The Mystery of the WellKnown
by Selyss
Summary: An accident or fate? A family legeng or the biggest secret of the wizarding world? A miracle or the truth revealed? And how will Hermione face Riddle in his own times? All alone, with no friends or allies. Or not? Is she in danger or deadly? Well?
1. Going Back

_**Title:**__** The mystery of the well-known**_

_**Pairing: Hermione Granger & Tom Riddle**_

_**Genre: Romance, Suspence, Drama, Angst  
**_

_**Summary: Hermione's hit by two curses at the same time and she has no idea what curses are those. She's sent back in time to the times of Tom Riddle. She confides in Dumbledore, who agrees to help her. But until he finds something, she has to stay at Hogwarts as a student. It will be an eventful year. But you should know, Hermione has a lot of secrets she'd been keeping from most of the people. And there are secrets, much bigger and more important, that she finds out during her trip that will change her life and her way of seeing things forever. As an independent and strong witch, she has to make choices. But what kind of choices will they be?**_

_**Notes:**__** Italic writing is flashback and something like this **'text'** are Hermione's thoughts. It's not hard to tell, but just so you know =]**_

_**Disclaimer: I'm sure you know it, but to be clear, I DO NOT own Harry Potter in any way. I only own the plot of this story, which I invented by myself.**_

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* * *

  
**_

Sighing, Hermione fought the urge to just fall asleep. She still had so much to do. She's always been expected to be perfect and she's always been trying to comply. She was doing pretty well.

* * *

_Little Hermione Granger sat in a high chair at the side of a hospital bed, her legs dandling above the ground as she looked at the person in the bed, her vision blurred with held back tears. She heard a cough coming from the bed, so she wiped her eyes with her sleeve and looked at the person._

_'Hi 'Mione! What's up?' said the person._

_'Hi Nat! Better say what's up with you. Explain yourself! I've been terribly worried about you, you know!' she was very relieved that he was okay, angry more at herself for not being able to do anything to help him than at anything else._

_'Whoa! I'm barely alive and yet you accuse me of being careless. Sometimes I think you're too spoken out for a four-year-old and for your own good.' Nat said in a mock hurt voice._

_'Says who! I've heard you were just as spoken out in my age as I am. And you haven't really changed.'_

_'I've matured a bit, don't you think?'_

_'Well, maybe only a bit. At last it was only thirteen years ago that you were my age.'_

_'But I'm sure I wasn't that sarcastic when I was your age!'_

_'I wouldn't be so sure about it,' said a femenine voice coming from the door._

_A man and a woman were standing there, looking tired, but relieved and holding each a cup of coffee._

_'Mum! Dad!' Nat smiled happily. 'You're here!'_

_'Where else would we be when our son got almost killed? Do you think we would just send our daughter to keep you company?' the man accused him. He was quite tall, with short, dark brown hair and honey-coloured eyes._

_'I didn't know you think so little of us, Nathaniel,' said the woman as the corner of her mouth lifted up into a little smile. She was quite short, but her figure was very nice. She had long, blond hair and dark blue eyes._

_Nathaniel just smiled broadly. He himself was tall, had very dark blond hair and chocolate eyes._

_The girl named Hermione was quite short for her age, with bushy brown hair and deep chocolate eyes._

_'We're so glad you're okay! But what happened?'_

_'I dunno,' Nat admitted, his smile fading a little. 'I was coming back from school very late, you know, that project that just needs to be done quickly. Te street was deserted, the last person turned into the other street and I was left alone. Then I felt pain, a lot of pain, as if my skull was being split into two and I collapsed. I've no idea what would've caused it.'_

_'That's strange... Probably someone just hit your head with a baseball or something like that... I see no other explanation. And there are so many hooligans lately, it's really dangerous even at day, not saying about night...' Mr Granger looked pensive._

_'You're right dear, that's probably what happened. You should've called us, we would've fetched you up,' Mrs Granger said regretfully._

_'Don't worry 'bout that anymore. It's already happened, we can't change it. It's my fault, I should've been more careful, but I was so tired, I didn't wanna go the longer way, so I went that one. I should've known, but you know how it is, you always think that kinda thing would never happen to you...' Nat blushed slightly._

_'No, it's not your fault, it's ours...' Mrs Granger trailed off and Hermione took that chance to say:_

_'It's no one's fault and bro's already said we can't change it even if we want to. Just next time we'll make sure to be extra careful and now it's no use to be blaming yourself, it won't make things better.'_

_'Sometimes you scare me,' Mr Granger nevertheless smiled lightly, apparently proud of his daughter._

_'Yup, you two are so alike, you can't deny you're siblings,' Mrs Granger smiled._

_'Ehh, mum,' Hermione and Nat smiled as well._

_

* * *

_'Hermione!' someone shook her lightly.

'Unghhh... What...' she looked up to see who was shaking her and she found herself looking at non other than Fred Weasley. 'Oh, Fred...' than she looked to the left and saw the identical face of George Weasley. 'George... Hi...' she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes of sleep.

'How is it you can tell us apart even when we've just woken you up?' George questioned incredulously.

'Special trick. Maybe one day, when I think you're good enough, I'll reveal it to you,' she smirked at him, seeing his annoyance mixed with curiosity.

'Aren't you just saying by that that you'll never tell us?' Fred raised his eyebrows.

'My my, maybe there _is_ something about you being intelligent?' Hermione said sarcastically.

'There you go again 'Mione,' Fred sighed.

Hermione stiffend at his nickname for her. Fred realised it.

'You don't like the nickname?'

'No, not at all. On the contrary, I like it a lot,' Hermione smiled warmly and Fred smiled back.

'Good _'Mione_.'

'You should go get some sleep,' George offered.

'So that you'll be able to prank freely?' she smirked again.

'Oh, but dearest, you need your beauty sleep. Not that you need to be more beautiful - you're already astounding, add to it your intelligence, brilliancy, skillfulness...' Fred was cut off by Hermione.

'Don't continue it if you wanna be able to have sex in the future,' she warned, earning a surprised look from both twins. 'But you're right, I should go to sleep, I'm sooo tired!'

'One of those days you're gonna die from overstudying, we tell you!'

'Okay, okay, whatever...' she waved them off as she picked up her books and bag and made her way toward girls' dormitory, but not before giving each of the twins a kiss on the cheek, their faces now bewildered. 'Good night, boys!'

'G'night 'Mione!' they called after her meakly.

'She must've been really tired and sleep-deprived,' commented George.

'I agree, dear twin o'mine,' Fred nodded eagerly.

* * *

Hermione fell asleep as soon as her cheek touched the pillow.

_She heard a scream. But she knew nobody was screaming in her neighbourhood. She knew, 'cause she was aware of the fact that she had heard it in her head. The voice sounded frighteningly similar to that of her brother's. But he was at the hospital, under doctor's care, he should be okay, he _must_ be okay..._

_She heard another scream, just like the one before and she knew her brother was not alright. She had no idea why she heard those screams, bu she needed to check on him, to confirm that these were only her nightmares chasing her even at day. But she knew it to not be true. Deep inside her she was scared like never before in her life._

_One more scream. She couldn't take it anymore, she needed to do something, to help him. But what?_

_  
She ran into her small house, running through the hall into the living room where her parents were currently watching television._

_'Mum! Dad!'_

_Their heads turned towards her._

_'What's wrong, Hermione?' Mrs Granger asked gently._

_But she didn't get to say anything, because phone rang. Mr Granger picked it up._

_'Good morning! Yes, I am Frank Granger, his father. What's wrong?'_

_At that exact moment Hermione's insides twisted and she felt cold, then empty. So empty. Lifeless. Her heart stopped beating, After a few seconds it started pumping once again, the air filling her lungs, making her pant. The emptiness was dissapearing, leaving behind only fear. Fear of losing her brother. Actually, she was sure he was already dead, but the insecurity and those strange feelings overwhelming her felt so strange, she was frightened like never before. She didn't know why she trusted those feelings, they were brand new. As her breathing was becoming less ragged, tears slowly made their way into her eyes and out, onto her cheeks, dampening them, slidind slowly down._

_Her parents didn't see that though. Her mother was looking at her father expectantly and he wasn't looking at anything in particular._

_'Can't you... But... We're... Yes, I understood. We'll be there as soon as possible,' with that he ended the call._

_'Was it from the hospital? What did they say?' Mrs Granger asked quietly. Hermione was in no condition to talk, something new to her. Her breathing came back to normal, but her senses went overload._

_'We have to go there. It's urgent. That's the only thing they told me and I didn't want to waste time on arguing with them. Let's go!'_

_Mrs Granger only grabbed her bag, where were their documents, cellphones and keys._

_After a few minutes they were driving to the hospital. There wasn't much trafic, so they made it quite quickly. Throughout the ride they didn't say a word to each other, each of them deep in their own thoughts._

_When they arrived at the hospital, they immediately went to see Nat's doctor._

_'Doctor, what's wrong?' Mrs Granger asked worriedly._

_'Come in,' the doctor said, indicating to Nat's hospital room._

_What they saw calmed them down at first. Nat was sleeping in his bed. But then, after a closer look, they were just plain terrified. He wasn't just sleeping. He was dead. He didn't breathe, his face was distorted with fear and pain. But there were no signs of something unnormal beside that. He looked like a stone figure. An angel that met terrible death on his path._

_'What... What happened?' Mr Granger asked once he'd found his voice._

_'I'm very sorry. We have no idea. When we checked on him, he's already been like that. It seems that he died from a heart attack.'_

_'But why does he look...' Mrs Granger searched for words, but to no avail. 'Like that?' she finished, not knowing how to say it properly. Or maybe not wanting to._

_'We don't know that either. It's probably from the heart attack as well. I'm sorry to say that, but he died in pain. Well, of course you can see that... but...' the doctor trailed off, feeling seemingly uneasy about the whole situation and his knowledge or, in this case, the lack of it._

_It still took some time for the news to sink in. Before that happened, they'd just stood there, unmoving, the only thing heard in the room was their breathing, echoing in the room they all wished they didn't have to be in._

* * *

Hermione woke up the next day feeling much more tired than before she went to sleep. The horrible memories kept coming back to her and she had no idea why. She wanted to forget about it, to not think. Of course, she didn't want to forget her brother, never! She promised to herself she'd never forget him and that promise was an easy one to keep. But she wanted to forget about the pain, fright, emptiness. Who'd want to remember things like those? But they never left her. Not even once.

* * *

_'You gave us all a fright, you know,' Hermione smiled at her brother._

_'Yeah, I know,' Nat looked sheepish. 'I'm sorry. I'll never do that again, I promise. But you promise me something too, okay?'_

_'What?'_

_'That you'll be wiser than I am. You won't do stupid things like I did. You'll be much more intelligent. Don't forget about it, Hermione. Your intelligence is your friend and your weapon. You'll be only wiser with time. Study a lot and be one of the most intelligent people ever!' he laughed._

_'I promise.' Hermione smiled as well. Little did she know that was her last conversation with her brother._

* * *

Hermione knew her brother didn't mean for her to study day and night, but she felt that she owed him that. She promised him, that was like his last will and she wouldn't break a once given word. It wasn't in her style. So she studied. And she wasn't really surprised for the twins to point it out the next day (if only them and that one time!).

'Hey 'Mione, you don't look like you got much sleep last night. Told ya you need it, you said so yourself, and now you look even more tired and sleep-deprived. Bet you were studying again!'

She just laughed. 'I wasn't. I really went to sleep. It's just that I didn't sleep well...'

'Nightmares?' George smirked. But when she blushed his smirk vanished at one and his place took a slightly opened mouth. He didn't expect that.

'Next time if you have nightmares, be sure to come to us, we'll always help you more than gladly,' Fred wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Hermione rolled her eyes at him, but grinned nevertheless.

* * *

If you'd asked her, Hermione wouldn't be able to say whether the beggining of the school year went slowly or quickly. She was mostly lost in her own world, her memories haunting her more then ever, happy moments spent with her brother entertwining with that overwhelming feeling of despair, coldness, emptiness and lifelessness. She's never feeld like that before and after. She still wondered what it was. Now she knew that she was a witch, so it explained it but only a little bit. Even in this magic world there were some things that were impossible or at least not heard of. She's never heard of a case like that and she researched it. And the strangeness of her brother's death. It surely wasn't normal. She had a feeling it had something to do with magic as well, but she wasn't sure, so she decided to leave it be for a lifetime. She didn't want anyone to know about it. But it still unnerved her how she couldn't find anything.

* * *

When Christmas came she got an invitation from Sirius to stay at Grimmauld Place. She quickly agreed. She and Sirius were on really good terms, what some of people did and some of them didn't know. Sirius was very intelligent and he liked to talk with Hermione about a lot of things, admiring her knowledge. He always liked to hear her opinion, respecting it, and to argue with her too, she was only sixteen, but very mature for her age. She always argued back, that gleam of determination in her eyes was what he liked. He liked lively people, especially after Azkaban, and she sure was lively as hell.

He sent her an invitation in a letter adressed to her, they corresponded too, but he mentioned to Harry to take her as well. Ron would be there that way or another, seeing as the rest of his family was staying there, but he and Hermione agreed they didn't want Harry to know about their closeness, they didn't really know why, but they thought it'd be better and Hermione didn't wanna come out of blue and ask herself into Grimmauld Place, it would look strange, so he told Harry he could take her too, knowing he'd do it more than gladly. Harry and Hermione were close, despite what it might've looked like, Harry relied on her opinion on various matters and though they often disagreed, they rarely argued seriously.

Hermione, Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Ginny arrived together at Grimmauld Place with the beginning of the winter break. Sirius welcomed them merrily, happy to have many good people with him. At last not lonely and sad.

* * *

Hermione was unpacking the things she brought with her in the room she shared with Ginny. The younger girl was currently visiting the boys' room.

Hermione heard a knock on the door.

'Come in!'

When the door opened, she saw a head with long, shiny black hair come in view. Then the rest of the peron came in as well.

'Sirius!' Hermione smiled.

'Yup, I wanted to see if you're not lacking something,' Sirius smiled back.

'Are you talking about the room or about me?' she raised an eyebrow at him.

'I'd never even think you could lack something in your amazing person.'

'Charming as always.'

'Only to those who are worth it,' Sirius's eyes sparkled with joy.

Hermione laughed, but both of them knew it was true. Sirius wouldn't compliment somebody who he thought wasn't worth it.

'Well, let's go down, the dinner's ready by now,' Sirius informed.

'Ah, right, now that I come to think of it, I'm hungry,' Hermione mused.

'Then let's go!'

They hurried down the stairs, laughing as they did. Hermione was so happy at the moment. She hasn't been that happy since Cedric's death. As she remembered this, she abruptly stopped laughing. Sirius noticed, stopped laughing as well and patted her shoulder.

'Don't worry 'bout it. You can't help it,' he said, deciding not to say too much, just enough to ler her know that she wasn't alone, that he knew and was always there to help her.

'Yeah, I know. But it still makes me feel bad. Anyway, thanks,' she flashed him a weak smile with he accepted with a smile of his own.

'Always there, princess,' Sirius made it a habit to call her 'princess' when they were alone, he said it suited her and liked to see her feel uneasy.

When they reached the kitchen, Hermione saw people she didn't quite expect to see. There, standing in the middle of the kitchen, were Lupin, Charlie and Bill.

'Sirius! Hermione!' they bellowed as they went to greet them. They hugged each other as a greeting.

Lupin hugged her, patting her on her back with a mixture of father-daughter and friend-friend relationdhip she always liked so much. He was a lot older than she was and very experienced by the life. She found it interesting to talk with him and looked at him with admiration.

Bill hugged her as well, pulling her up a little, seeing as he was so tall, laughing into her hair.

'We haven't had the chance to talk lately,' he said.

'Yeah, I know,' she replied, hugging him back just as tightly. He might've seemed cool and a bit distant from his appearance, but he was a very warm person. At first she found it strange that he actually came to talk to her, but then they talked on a normal basis. He was very bright and intelligent and told her she was too, despite her young age.

But when she hugged Charlie, there was something strange about him. They talked a few times, but Charlie was rarely home and when he came, he had a lot of things to take care of. She's never had any special relationship with him, but she liked him, he was a genuine person and she always appreciated that. This time, when he pulled back from the hug, he was blushing, grinning shyly. She had no idea why, but didn't have the time to think about it as Mrs Weasly called them for dinner. They all started talking and laughing, the food was great as always, the atmosphere so light and cheerful, even Harry looked happy. Sirius was beaming, having his closest people with him, all in great moods, made him see the sense of life. If they won, he'd have that practically each day. The thought made him see even more sense in his life and in fighting with the Order.

After dinner everyone stayed in the kitchen, still talking, but Hermione needed to use the toilet, so she excused herself and went for the said toilet. During het little trip she stumbled on something, making it fall. It was some kind of little table. She wanted to put it back in its place, but stopped when she heard a malice voice.

'Stupid Mudblood! Doesn't even look as she walks. Will never be as good as Purebloods. Oh, no! She will never be even good. She stole the power of the Pureblooded ones and she has the nerve to come into the house of my Mistress and destroy her favourite table. But Kreacher won't forgive it. Kreacher won't forgive it!' the small house-elf looked even more out of his mind than normally. The effect was doubled by his reflection in the mirror. Then he raised his small fist in the air and he was mumbling something. Hermione had a bad feeling about it.

'Kreacher, please, stop...' she said quietly, but she already knew it was to no avail.

'And she dares say Kreacher's name. The one that's served you since he can remember. Kreacher will teach her not to offend him and his family ever again!' he raised his fist even higher.

'Stop it right now, you filthy scum!' Hermione recognised that voice as Sirius's as he ran to the scene with his wand ready.

He cast a spell at Kreacher, who jumped to the side and threw his curse at Hermione. The spell Sirius sent bounced off the mirror and hit Hermione as well.

'Hermione!' Sirius was downright scared, not knowing what happened to her as she just dissapeared into thin air. That was something he's never seen or even heard of. What could've happened to her?

* * *

Hermione felt her back hit the wall, her eyes closed, and she fell to the ground with a loud thump, her whole body aching. She wondered why Sirius still hadn't come to check if she was alright or why was it so quiet - she was sure Kreacher wouldn't stop his whining. Maybe Sirius silenced him? But still, it was weird.

'Can I help you? Who are you?' she heard an unfamiliar, polite but only business-likely tone.

'Ungghhhhhh...' was all she managed to get out as she tried to open her eyes. When she did it, she wish she didn't try to open them at all. She found she was at Hogwarts. An unfamiliar boy (or rather a young man, she thought) was looking at her intently, his gaze calculating. He was a Slytherin, that much she could tell even without his green tie and Slytherin badge on his school robes. He was quite high, she would barely reach his chin. He had raven hair, the same colour as Harry's hair, but the man's hair were neatly composed, and dark green eyes, the colour also reminding her of that of Harry's, but Harry's were always full of emotion, giving him away even if he tried to hide his feelings. The man's eyes were cold and calcutating, measuring her, making her feel uneasy, something dangerous lurking within. He was pale, very pale, his skin smooth and it was strange how it suited him. He was also well-built. He was slender with hints of muscles under his shirt. He wasn't too muscled, but not skinny either. He was a fine example of a man, Hermione thought.

'I'm Hermione...' she started, but then she thought better than to say her full name, not knowing who the young man was and what was going on. 'Who are you?' she asked instead, hoping he wouldn't ask for her surname.

'I'm a sixth year Slytherin. My name is Tom Riddle,' the guy said.

At that very moment, Hermione thought she'd gone nuts or was dreaming, but apparently she was not, the man before her as real as he possibly could be. But if there wasn't anyone else at Hogwarts named Tom Riddle, and she was pretty sure there wasn't, seeing as there'd be loud about it, that meant...

_**A/N I hope you liked it. Please, review and tell me what you liked and what you didn't like about my story. I really appreciate the reviews, like most of the fanfiction writers =]**_


	2. Staying

_**A/N Here is the second chapter of my story. I hope you'll like it!**_

Hermione blinked slowly, trying to process what was just happening. It couldn't be true. There was no way. A minute ago she was at Grimmauld Place and now she was talking with Tom Riddle himself! Not Lord Voldemort, the white, red-eyed snake-like man, but with Tom Riddle, young, handsome man. Well, talking was an exageration, but they've just exchanged a few words. It seemed so strange. It _was_ very strange. But how could it happen? She had no idea. Then and idea struck her.

_'The curses! That must be it! When those two curses hit me, some king of strange magic must've been released and I was sent to the past. But now what? I've no idea how to come back, what kind of curses they were if I wanted to research, or what to do with Riddle. I don't think I can get rid of him that easily. But I have to. I can't do anything with him near me. Oh Merlin! He might be reading my thoughts now! I must use Occlumency!'_

When she looked at him, she was positive he was trying to read her mind, but she just hoped he didn't see too much, nothing at all would be even better. At that very moment she felt extremely happy that Snape taught her Occlumency. She blocked her mind quickly, not allowing Riddle in. He looked at her even more intently than before, but to no use, so after a moment he stopped trying, reverting back to his shell, changing his look to the one of worry. He furrowed his eyebrows, his face forming a perfect mask of concern. Even his eyes showed that, if someone didn't look closely, they wouldn't know it was fake. Hermione felt repelled. He used his acting skills, or call it a charming personality, to get what he wanted from people. And now, as she guessed, he wanted information. But she wouldn't give it to him. She knew he wouldn't dare ask openly as she'd just kicked him out of her mind, he wasn't stupid, but he'd surely try later. Maybe he'd use her tiredness or try to charm her, as he did with many in the past. Or rather in the future. It was hard to tell now. Everything was mixing in her head, she wasn't sure who she was anymore. She just wanted to get away from him. He was everything she was fighting against and here he was, the only person that knew she was there.

_'That's it! I should contact somebody. Dumbledore'd be the best. He should be here, at Hogwarts. If I recall correctly, he wasn't a Headmaster back then... errr... back now... Never mind! But he was at school, teaching Transfiguration. He was the Head of Gryffindor. He's the only one who could help me. But how can I get to him? I can't just go look for him. I don't know how I can explain my presence here, especially if I show I know the castle very well. That'd be very unwise of me. I can't wait 'til Riddle gets tired of watching me either. That leaves me only one choice. I have to ask him to get me to Dumbledore. But would he do this? Is this really a good idea? Well, still the best one I have. I have to risk, I see no other option. Right, take a deep breath and...'_

'Could you take me to professor Dumbledore?' she asked, as politely as she could, trying not to think who she was talking to. Thank Merlin she had some acting skills.

'Excuse me?' he asked, clearly not expecting that.

'I need to talk with profesor Dumbledore. I don't know where to look for him. Could you take me to him?' she didn't add 'please' as she normally would, but she just couldn't bring herself to say that to him.

'Oh... Of course!' he said, quickly masking his surprise with a smile. 'May I know why are you looking for him?'

'I have some problems that I believe only he can help me with. That's everythings I can tell you, those are personal matters I don't like to talk about with strangers.'

'So you know him?' he asked nonchalanthly, but she knew he'd really like to know.

'Yes, I do know him. He's helped me before,' _'or is it "after"?'_ 'so I come to him this time as well.'

Riddle looked thoughtful for a split second, before he smiled that fake smile and told her, 'This way!'

And, though she truly didn't want to, she followed him. They went through different corridors Hermione knew very well, but she showed no recognition on her face. She knew Riddle could easily read her face and she decided not to give in to him. She didn't show curiousity either. She thought it would be unwise too. Her face remained stone-like. She noticed Riddle stealing glances at her, but she didn't show she saw anything. She just stared ahead of herself, still stone-faced, always keeping a few steps behind him, paying attention to his pace. He sometimes slowed down, probably waiting for her to do something stupid like go further, but she just slowed down with him. After three tries he gave it up. She thought he'd probably learned by now that she wasn't that easy to decieve. But she knew he wouldn't stop trying. He'd just change measures.

'Here you are. This is professor Dumbledore's cabinet,' he informed, stopping in front of closed, dark wooden door. His voice didn't hold any emotion at all and she instantly knew he gave up on his masquerade. She hoped he'd do that soon. She didn't like dealing with him at all, but she disliked much more people who wore masks, who pretended being someone they were not. That was part of why she hated herself. But it wasn't that easy. She wasn't just dishonest, pretending to be someone she wasn't, but she really tried to be, so it was different. Still, she hated herself for that.

'Thank you,' she responded, with the same voice, deciding it wouldn't do her much harm if she gave it up as well.

She wasn't surprised to find that he expected it - after all, he wasn't called 'brilliant' for nothing. And that word fit him perfectly. It didn't matter whether he was good or bad, he was brilliant and she couldn't deny it, even after so little time. To her, he was a mystery, a _riddle_, just like she was to him. They didn't really know each other. She'd prefer not to know him any better, but she knew it'd be useful. But dangerous too. He was vey careful around her; learned that she wasn't just any witch he could meddle with as he wished, but he still didn't test exactly her possibilities, what she was capable of.

Riddle knocked on the door. After a moment it opened to reveal an elderly wizard with ginger, long hair and beard. He was wearing half-moon spectacles and his bright blue eyes twinkled familiarly from behind them.

'Yes? How can I help you?' the younger Dumbledore asked, looking at Riddle kindly.

Hermione hid from Dumbledore's eyesight before he opened the door, so Riddle wouldn't know the professor didn't know her. At least not _yet_. She supposed he could figure her out, but she had to try, descretely hiding herself in the shadows.

'Professor Dumbledore! It's so good to see you again! I'm sorry to bother you, I'm sure you're very busy, but I have a big problem that only you could help me with, and I assure you it'll interest you,' she said quickly, stepping out of the shadows. She knew she was risking a lot, but she hoped Dumbledore'd understand what she meant. She did say 'again', as if he'd seen her before, she spoke as though she knew him and she said she had an interesting problem. Besides, the advantage was, Dumbledore was suspicious of Riddle from the very beginning, she was sure of it, so by now he probably tried to have an eye on him, and Dumbledore should be able to tell that she didn't want Riddle's company in particular.

'Oh! Indeed, long time no see!' he smiled, hugging her lightly. She hugged him back, feeling very relieved. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Riddle tightening his jaw. _'He fell for it!'_ she thought happily. 'Come in! We need to talk. Tom, do you need something?'

'No, I was only escorting this young lady to your office, professor,' Riddle smiled nonchalantly, lifting his eyebrows lightly, a smirk hiding in his eyes.

'Goodbye to you then!' Dumbledore smiled at him, though his eyes lost their twinkle.

'Goodbye,' Riddle replied, not waiting for Dumbledore to close the door, he turned back and walked away.

Dumbledore closed the door and came to sit on a chair behind his desk. His classroom wasn't all that big and surely not standing out, with bookshelves filled with many old-looking books on many subjects. There was a window and a desk opposite to it with two chairs on both sides, Dumbledore sitting with his back turned to the window.

'Please, have a seat,' he gestured to the chair opposite to him. Hermione sat down. 'Both of us know what you've just told is a complete lie, but you're right, it already got my attention. I know not what your problem is, but I'd like very much to find out what has made you so desperate as to look for my help, to turn to the person you have never met before.'

'That's not completely true,' Hermione said, hoping he would listen to the whole story first and not judge her before hearing her out. But he's already lied to cover up for her, so why wouldn't he want to hear the whole story?

'I'm afraid I do not understand, Miss...' Dumbledore paused.

'Granger. Hermione Granger,' she introduced herself. She thought she saw Dumbledore stiffen a bit when he heard her name.

'Well then, Miss Granger, what do you mean by that?' he was back to looking like his old self. Hermione thought she might've imagined it.

'You see, I knew you. I mean, I _will_ know you... It's very complicated, but I'll start from the beginning. As I'm assuming it's year 1943. I come from 1995. I attend Hogwarts, I've been Gryffindor for the last six years. I was spending Christmas of my sixth year with my friends. There was a fight and I got hit with two curses at once and I've no idea what curses those were. One was cast by a house-elf who, to speak very lightly, didn't like me, and the second by a friend of mine, who tried to protect me. His spell rebounced off the mirror and hit me at the same as the house-elf's. I hit the wall and lost my conciousness for a short while. When I woke up, there already was Riddle and I knew I was in trouble. I don't have the sligthest idea how to come back or what to do now and the best thing I came up with was to contact you, professor. I knew I wouldn't get rid of Riddle that easily, so I asked him to bring me to you. Besides, now things are a bit different than at my times, so I didn't want to risk getting even more trouble. I'm really sorry to bother you, professor, but I thought, and still think, that if someone can help me, it is you,' Hermione related.

'I see... So you know me... And Tom? What about him?'

'Well... I can't really say I know him, but I'd surely heard of him, I don't think there's a person who didn't. I don't think it'd be good to reveal any more things. What I was taught while using a time-turner was not to meddle with time.'

'So you've used a time-turner,' Dumbledore scrached his long beard lightly, his eyebrows furrowing.

'Yes, I was given it so that I could attend all of my lessons. Is there something wrong with-' she abruptly stopped, realising what exactly was wrong with that. 'Time-Turners weren't... aren't... invented yet...'

'You are right, my dear. I've been told there are works being held to invent a Time-Turner, but it's not finished yet, and I don't think they would work with that much time space.'

'That's true. Even in my times, the Time-Turner I had could take me only a few hours back,' Hermione bit her lower lip. 'But there were machines... In the Department of Mysteries... Lots of Time-Turners...'

'How do you know that?' Dumbledore looked very surprised.

Hermione then thought that maybe this wasn't such a good idea to say that aloud. Dumbledore might've trusted her, but there surely were some limits of it. Now she was telling him she's been in the Department of Mysteries. Well, she didn't _exactly_ say that, but it was obvious. And she couldn't tell him anything more.

'When you're in my time, you'll see what I mean. You'll know about everything better than anyone else... But now...' Hermione dared to look at her future headmaster. He looked pensive.

'I know you cannot reveal too many things. I suppose I will have to trust you, Miss Granger,' he said, looking at her intently.

'You are a Muggleborn, am I right?'

'Very right, sir,' she answered. 'Is there any problem with that?' she asked lightly.

'Not at all. Not with that. But with the rest...'

'I know it is all very wrong, but I couldn't do anything else. Riddle's already noticed me by the time I was awake, I've already violated one of the rules of the Time-Turners: not to change anything in the past, as it might change the whole history. That rule works even without the Time-Turners. I didn't use one, but still I've changed something just by talking with you. That's probably not a disaster, but still it is dangerous. But I've no idea what to do,' her shoulders slumped down, as though someone put an invisible bag full of stones on her back, her head hanging down.

'Do not worry, Miss Granger, I will think of something,' Dumbledore said soothingly, smiling slightly at her. When she took in all of this, she visibly brightened, feeling very relieved. She wasn't alone here. 'But before I come up with something, we need to think of what to do with you while you're here. You cannot hide, Tom has already seen you, he would not sit still if you disappeared. He is too intriguied by this case.'

'I know that. He's already tried to use Legilimency on me.'

'And?'

'I used Oclumency.'

Dumbledore looked mildly surprised, but then he smiled again. 'Well, it surely is a good thing. That you know Oclumency,' his smile faded and he got serious. 'I think the best solution is to let you stay here as a student. You said you have started your sixth year. It is the end of September, so there should be no problem with that. But you will need to be sorted again. You said you were a Gryffindor.'

'Yes... But...' Hermione blushed, looking down. 'You see... When I was getting sorted the Sorting Hat was wondering whether it should put me into Gryffindor or...' she bowed her head further, finishing in low whisper, 'Slytherin.'

Dumbledore didn't look surprised. He looked as though something he feared might happen have really happened, Hermione thought. _'But, to think of it, I couldn't have seen his face properly, I just caught a glimpse of him... Ughhh! I'm overanalazying things again!'_

'It happens. It is not necesary to be bad to be sorted into Slytherin. Just very cunning. And I think you posses that quality,' he looked straight at her, making her shift uncomfortably in her sit. Seeing that, he added more reassuringly, 'But you ended up in Gryffindor anyway. That means something.'

There was a short moment of silence, then Dumbledore asked, 'You are afraid that this time you will be sorted into Slytherin, am I right?'

It was probably more of a rethorical question, but Hermione answered anyway, 'Yes, you are, sir.'

'Don't worry. If you are, then so be it, nothing bad will happen.'

But Dumbledore's words didn't get to Hermione. Especially that he didn't look sure of them himself.

'Then we should think of some back-up story,' Dumbledore anounced. 'Let's say... Your parents were hit by a car and died. You have no other family, so you came to me, a friend of your parents, the only one you could think of, and asked me to help you. I offered you place at Hogwarts as a student and you accepted. So far you've been home-schooled and lived in a village in England. Your name is Hermione Rushoff. Your parents were both Muggleborns. You were home-schooled by a wizarding married couple that your family was friends with and when they found out about you being a witch, they decided to help. Avoid telling aything more than that. You needn't attract too much attention to that. Oh, and did you tell Tom your name?'

'Only my first name, nothing more, sir.'

'Good. Do you remember the story?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Just so you know, it it Sunday, fifth of September. Now I'll go talk with professor Dippet, he is the headmaster here. I do not think he will have something against you entering Hogwarts, but I do need to talk about him with that. Wait here and do not go anywhere. I will be back soon. Here are lemon drops, help yourself,' and with that Dumbledore was gone.

Hermione waited patiently. She didn't eat any lemon drops, she didn't even touch anything, just sat there, staring out the window at the slowly darkening sky, thinking about everything that had happened in the last hour. She missed her home so much. The times were dangerous, not yet openly, but this was even worse, not knowing what to expect, not sure if tomorrow will still be free from open war. But still, her friends were there. The ones that knew her and she didn't have to pretend she was someone else. _'Wait. I do pretend,' _she thought bitterly. _'But there are Sirius, Remus and Bill who know the whole truth. Mr Weasley knows as well. And Cedric knew...'_ Her thoughts drifted to that tall, slim boy, very well-built, with sand-coloured hair and stormy-grey eyes and a perfect smile, with straight white teeth framed by full pink lips. She could still hear his joyous laughter ringing in her ears, his warm hug still embracing her. _'And here I am, in the past. I was talking with the one that is the reason why Cedric is dead. Why Harry's parents are dead. Why Neville's parents are in that state. Why Sirius spent thirteen years in Azkaban and now has to hide. Why Harry has this burden on his shoulders. He is the reason of so much evil and pain and I can't do anything to prevent that. I have to sit here and wait patiently till Dumbledore figures out how to send me back and until then, I have to pretend I'm someone else. "For the greater good", huh? I wanna do something, but I can't. It's too risky. I might not help at all, and even change things for worse. But then, weren't the results of my being in the past visible from the very beginning, before I even got here? Is it possible that Dumbledore recognised me from the moment I stepped into Hogwarts? Time is a mysterious thing. Definetely not the one to meddle with.'_

'Professor Dippet says you can stay as a student,' she heard Dumbledore say from behind her back. She was so deep in thoughts she didn't hear him come in. Or maybe it was just him who came in very quietly. 'You will be in the sixth year and will be sorted at dinner. You have an hour. You will go shopping tomorrow with someone, I have told the headmaster that you have visited Hogsmead before, but never stayed for too long. You should not know the place to well. And you have never been at Hogwarts at all. Remember that as well. Understood?'

'Yes, sir. Thank you very much. I don't know what I'd do without you,' Hermione sighed.

'Do not say that yet. I am not entirely sure I will find a way to take you back to your home. You are aware of that fact, are you not?'

'Of course I am,' Hermione said truthfully. 'But I appreciate your effort. Not everyone would believe me. But you'll know. In the future you'll understand.'

'I hope so, Miss Rushoff, I hope so,' Dumbledore smiled sadly, his eyes twinkling wisely. 'As for now, you will put Hogwarts robes, house-elves will prepare something for you. You will stay the rest of the time here, it is not convenient to have you wandering around the castle considering the situation. Then you will come to the Great Hall with me. You have your made up story, hopefully no one will want to check it better. Or the person will not have the ways.'

'I hope so too, professor,' Hermione agreed, feeling her stomach tighten. When in her first year the Sorting Hat had at last put her in Gryffindor, she was so relieved and glad that she won't have to go through that again. And now that nightmare came to life. What if this time it won't sort her to Gryffindor again? Hopefully she won't stay here for long. And even if she does, it's only two years till she graduates. _'Yeah, only two years,'_ she snorted.

There was a knock on the door and after Dumbledore'd let it in, it turned out to be a house-elf holding clean robes. Dumbledore gave them to have and told her he'd wait outside. Then he and the house-elf were gone and Hermione changed into the school robes, something oddly familiar in this, yet still so different. She didn't belong to any house right now. Not in the eyes of the other students. But in her heart she was still a Gryffindor. She hoped she soon would be one again.

When she asked Dumbledore to come in, he did so and sat in his chair while she sat in the other. They sit like that, in complete silence, until Dumbledore announced that it's time to go. She stood up, feeling her stomach tighten even more and make its way to her throat. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, as though it wanted to get out, and she heard her blood pound in her ears as the one sentence was followed by nothing but silence. Dumbledore didn't try to make her tell him the story again to check if she remembered and she was glad for that - he apparently knew that she wasn't an idiot.

When they stood before the huge oak door to the Great Hall, she felt her legs almost give way. But she mustn't show weakness. She can't afford that luxus.

Then they entered the Great Hall. Everyone was already there. She felt hundreds sets of eyes turn toward her, watching her intently, scrutinizing her. She didn't look at them, she didn't want to. It'd only make her feel worse. She looked at the professors' table, which was full of unknown faces. Then she looked at a man standing near the cathedral. He was middle-height, slightly rounded, but definetely not fat. He had shoulder-lenght silver her and a moustache of the same colour. _'He must be headmaster Dippet.'_

'Everyone, this is our new stundent, Hermione Rushoff. She was home-educated before, but now wants to attend Hogwarts. She is a sixth year. At this very dinner she will be sorted. I hope you will welcome her warmly,' said the headmaster and he smiled at Hermione, who smiled back, hoping she didn't look as nervous as she was feeling. 'Please, sit on this chair. I will put the Sorting Hat on your head and it will decide which house you will be in.'

Hermione did as she was told, waiting. She felt something being placed on her head and this time she didn't alost drown in the confinents of the Sorting Hat. Instead, it stopped at her ears.

_'Well, well, well... what do we have here? Time-travel. Interesting indeed. You've been a Gryffindor before, am I right? Or maybe I shouldn't have said "before". But I wanted to sort you into Slytherin too. You've seen it the Gryffindor way. Maybe it is time you tried the other path, the one you didn't want?'_

_'Oh no, please! Not Slytherin! Everything but not Slytherin!'_ Hermione pleaded in her head.

_'But you have too much fire inside you to be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Only Gryffindor and Slytherin will do. You're very brave and caring when it comes to something you hold dear. But you're witted and cunning as well. You've already been in Gryffindor. Wouldn't you want to be in Slytherin for once?'_

_'No, please! I like it in Gryffindor a lot, thank you very much!'_

_'If you put it that way. Well, anyway I've tried. But I see there's no reasoning with you. You're bloody stubborn. Another trait worth a Gryffindor. Than so be it...' _

_**A/N I hope you liked it. As always, reviews are welcomed =] If you have any questions, feel free to ask.**_


	3. The Sorting and the Consequences of it

_**A/N**__** Yet another chapter =] Enjoy!**_

Hermione held her breath. She knew what she could expect, but hearing it aloud is a whole different thing.

'SLYTHERIN!' the Sorting Hat bellowed.

Hermione froze. That was _not_ what she was expecting. She couldn't move from her place, doubting her hearing.

_'This is for The Greater Good, or call it whatever you want. This way will be better for everyone. To fullfil the prophecy. This is your fate and I'm not going to stand in its way.'_ the Sorting Hat told Hermione just before it was pulled off her head.

She slid off the chair, her limbs like stones. She knew full well what was lying ahead of her. Her name was totally Muggle, the Slytherins already knew that. They'd think she'd bring shame on their great house. And people from the other houses don't like the Slytherins, they won't even try to get to know her. She'd be taunted. She'd be alone. And she knew it.

She slowly made her way to the Slytherin table. She was glad there was some free space in the corner. No one would take it now on the purpose, but they surely wouldn't make any place for her. She tried not to look at anyone, but she couldn't help catching a glimpse of Tom Riddle as she took her place. He was watching her intently, his perfect brows furrowed, his eyes not giving away what he might've been thinking even in the slightest. There could be whisperings heard all around her, everyone looking at her. She felt very uneasy and uncomfortable.

_'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. But there was no other way. Riddle's already seen me before I could even put my thoughts together. If I wasn't here, he'd be even more suspicious than he is now. Besides, without talking with Dumbledore, I wouldn't have the slighest chance of going back. And what the bloody hell was that with fullfilling the prophecy? What prophecy? Why is it so important? And it seems like I play a significant role in it, the way the Sorting Hat had sayed it. Urghhh! I dunno what to do. I feel totally lost. But I oughn't to let them see me weak! No matter what, I won't give up! Harry didn't, Cedric didn't... They'd want me to be strong, I can't let them down. And it's not only for them, but for me too. I won't have any friends, that's for sure, but maybe if I don't show the weakness, they'll taunt me less.'_

Hermione straightened her posture, lifted her head higher, looking straight at the wall, tightening her lips. They wouldn't get her that easily, she wouldn't give them that pleasure. She'd fight. After all, what was there to loose? Even if they don't believe her story, there's no way they'll find out the truth. She'd never tell it and knew neither would Dumbledore.

She looked at her hand, a shining silver bracelet hanging from her wrist, with small blood-coloured gems. She smiled lightly. This was her connection with the past. Or the future. Whatever.

* * *

_She sat at the shore of the Black Lake. It was her birthday, but it hasn't really gone all that well. She got a present from Harry and he wished her happy birthday, but that wasn't the reason. She once again had a fight with Ron. But he was beaing so unreasonable! You couldn't talk with him calmly and explain everything, whenever she tried, it always ended up with him yelling at her and running out. She was tired. Tired of his childish behaviour, tired of trying to reason with him. She didn't even know whether they could be called best friends now or not._

_''Mione!' she heard a familiar voice call. She turned around just in time to see Cedric Diggory sit down on her right. She was so deep in thought she didn't even see him coming. 'Hello there!' he smiled warmly at her, baring his perfect teeth, his deep stormy-grey eyes glimmering happily, his sand-coloured hair moving with the wind, some of it getting into his eyes. He was just too perfect._

_'Hi Cedric!' Hermione responded with a smile on her own._

_'What's wrong? Don't tell me you fought with Weasley again,' his face showed concern and a bit of anger._

_'You're right. Well, not totally. _I_ didn't fight with him, _he_fought with me. I guess he hasn't figured it out yet. But I knew he'd be like that. He just needs some time, once he sees what lays ahead of the champions, he'll understand Harry wouldn't have done that to himself. But that's not what's bothering me.'_

_'So what's bothering you then?'_

_'I've thought about me and Ron... You know, I've always talked 'bout him like a good friend, but now I don't know if he's even my friend. He _did_ save me and he _was_ with Harry, but is that really called friendship? I mean, he's been supporting Harry so far, but we've never really gotten along. He only liked me when I helped him with his homework and when it came to other matters - he just kept saying I'm nuts. I tried to think of those moments when he stood up for me, when he cared, but there were few, and now... Now he's just furious. He won't even talk to me. I realized that with time our fights get worse. Now he won't even listen; he just yells at me and then leaves. I can't take that anymore. How am I supposed to call him a friend when I can't even talk to him? And I've heard him called me "stupid bookworm" too. I know that's what everyone thinks, but friends don't say that kind of stuff. I know he's agry, but it happened more then once...' Hermione trailed off, exasperated._

_'I don't think you're looking at it from the right perspective, 'Mione,' Cedric smiled at her lightly. 'It's not a question of a friendship. He's just head-over-hills for you and he doesn't know what to do, especially that in his eyes you like Potter more, 'cause you spend much time with him. He doesn't see that it's partially because of him. And the other people as well. The ones that don't believe him. Here kicks in Weasley's complex. He always felt like he was the worst. He has older brothers. Bill is very intelligent, has a great job. Charlie was a Quidditch captain and a great Seeker. Percy is a Prefect and has perfect grades. Fred and George are very popular and liked. And then he befriends Harry Potter. The famous Boy-Who-Lived. It doesn't matter that Potter is as much human as Weasley is, but all that dumb readhead sees is that Potter gets a lot of attention. He doesn't remember Potter's hard times in this school, but how they turned out, with him being the hero. And now the very first girl he's fallen in love with, what would be stressful and complicated enough for him, seems to prefer the hero, spends more time with him and defends and helps him as much as she can. He's furious.'_

_Hermione stared at Cedric, her eyes wide open. 'What... What... How... I... To think... Woah! That was one hell of a psychoanalyzis, Cedric. How did you get that idea?'_

_Cedric shook his head slightly. 'It's just that I'm not blind, 'Mione. Or maybe you just don't want to see it. You block out the thought that men might take interest in you. You simply don't believe it and I can't understand why.'_

_'Because, Cedric. Because I am the bookworm. The most boring person to spend time with. I know that's what most people think. And Ron's never showed me he cares 'bout me. He always makes fun of me or yells at me.'_

_'Haven't you heard that's the way young boys behave when they like someone?'_

_'I thought it was only a stupid theory.'_

_'Well, it's certainly not. Not all of the boys are that, but most of them.'_

_'Then... if Ron really is... head-over-heels for me... what should I do?' Hermione looked at Cedric, desperate._

_'It depends on how you feel towards him.'_

_'You know bloody well I don't like him in that way, thank you very much.'  
_

_'Then don't do anything at all. You don't have the obligation to do anything 'bout it. He hasn't confronted you, hasn't told you anything, he didn't behave like a man so you shouldn't treat him like one. Besides, if you'd talk with him 'bout that, he'll just pretend he doesn't know what you mean, and probably make fun of you for that too, maybe even in front of people, dunno how far that Weasley idiot would go, knowing him and his temper. He'd be hurt, your friendship would be ruined and nothing good would probably come out of it. Now you're not on good terms, but it might change. Then, if you talked with him, everything would change.'_

_'When did you get so smart?' Hermione smiled lightly._

_'Well, not all men are as dumb as that one Weasley,' Cedric smirked at her. 'Anyway, I wanted to give you this...' he said as he opened his palm. There, lying, was a beautiful silver bracelet with small blood-coloured gems in it. It looked so delicate._

_'Cedric... it's beautiful! I love it!' she exclaimed happily as he fastened it on her left wrist. 'You shouldn't have! It's too expensive!' she looked guilty._

_'Shhh... Happy birthday Mione. If you like it and smile some more, it's enough for me,' his warm grin could melt any heart._

_Hermione grinned from ear to ear, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek as he returned the gesture. 'Thank you so much!'_

_''S nothing, 'Mione, really,' he smiled at the girl in his arms, wishing she'd be forever happy and at the same time knowing she couldn't be._

* * *

Yeah, those time would never come back. Or would they? In this world, no one ever knew what could be expected. She already was here, where she surely shouldn't have been. What now? Just pretend like she was a normal Hogwart's student? Sit still and do nothing? How could she? And then there was that prophecy. What was it about? The Sorting Hat couldn't have been neither lying nor not knowing what it was talking about, right?

'What are you looking here for, Mudblood?' sneered someone from the other side of the table.

Hermione didn't react. She was used to that type of behaviour, so she didn't even look at the guy (it obviously had been a guy).

'Are you deaf or what? Well, surely a Mudblood can't be fully capable!' the person finished laughing, several laughs joining his.

'A Mudblood's not deaf. I just don't like wasting my energy on people below my intellect level,' she replied cooly, still not looking at him.

'You think I'm below you? Stupid Mubdblood! Look at me! Do you hear?! Look at me!' he leaned over the table, caught her chin and tilted it to him, making her look him in the face. She didn't refuse, complying him. When she looked at him, she recognised him momentally. Platinum blonde hair, grey eyes, sharp face, tall, well-built...

'Oh, what a surprise! Well, actually it's not. Malfoys' are known for a bad temper and stupid behaviour,' she said just as cooly.

'You... You know my name!'

'Oh, really? How did you figure that out?' she snorted.

'Did you just _snort_ on me?!'

'No, I just let the air out of my lungs in a specific way.'

'You're a pain the ass!'

'Oh, and what is that you exactly know about a pain in the ass, pretty boy?'

'You've done it!' Malfoy said as he raised his hand to smack her face.

'That's it! Ten points from Slytherin for a bad behaviour. Mr Malfoy, if you behave like that again, I will have to give you detention,' Dumbledore informed him.

Slytherins growled. They hadn't even started and they're already on a minus.

Malfoy let go of Hermione's jaw and sat back in his place. He glared at her and hissed, 'Now you're sure of yourself, but wait till I get to you while you're alone!'

'Oh, humor me,' Hermione snorted again, starting to eat dinner as it appeared right in front of her.

What she did realise, was Tom Riddle observing her with a smirk on his face. _'Well, that must've entertained him.'_

The rest of the feast went rather smoothly, at least as for what could've been. Hermione just continued eating without paying attention to the crowd around her. She had enough of stupid behaviour for one day. When people started to get up and go to their dorms, she did the same thing. As soon as she was near the Dungeons and Slytherin Common Room, someone caught her wrist and slammed her against the wall, at the same time throwing away her wand. She looked up in time to see Malfoy putting his hands on either side of her head, caging her in, his body too close for her liking.

'Well, well, well. Look what we have here,' he sneered, looking down at her with hatred and disgust. She just looked bored on the border of pissed off. 'Our little Mudblood, without the old fool to protect her.'

'Oh, and what shall I do now, when you attacked me so brutally and I was unsuspecting and am very very scared of big bad Malfoy now?' she mocked.

'You'd better cut the shit off.'

'Are you really that kin of losing your head then?' she smirked at him.

He made a move to punch her, but she held out her hand and in a blink of an eye there was a wand in her hand, which she pointed at his throat. He halted, just glaring at her. She put her leg up and kicked him off her, making him fall to the ground. Without even looking at him, she resumed her path to the Common Room. No one stopped her, but she knew it wasn't going to be that easy. She wasn't sure if she should sleep that night or if it was too risky. _'Well, they'd actually do me a favour if they killed me.'_ But she knew it wouldn't be that easy either. They wouldn't just kill her. There was no fun in that.

'You are a very strange person indeed. You don't fit in here,' she heard a familiar voice say and she turned around to face Tom Riddle. The Common Room was empty, everyone was in their dormitories, unpacking their trunks.

'You do realize you're not the first one to tell me that,' she replied coldly.

'I don't mean it that way. I believe you know what I'm talking about,' he smirked.

'You can believe whatever you want, it doesn't concern me.'

'It concerns you more than you want to admit. You have a secret you don't want people to find out, but I will try nevertheless. And I'm not going to hide that before you, because, again, I _believe_ you'd guess that much. You intriguy me and I don't like not knowing things. Besides, I think what you're hiding would be very useful to me. Wouldn't it be better for you to tell me now? I'll find out anyway, so why waste the time?'

'And where would be fun in that? I wonder why you even ask me, when you know full well I wouldn't tell you even if I was sure you'd find out. I still have time to think what I'll do if you find out,' she sneered.

'True. I'll have an interesting year then.'

'Do you plan to spend that much time on finding out? Guess you're not that brilliant then,' she arched an eyebrow sceptically at him.

'Oh, you're doubting my brilliancy then. Do you think you're so smart? I wouldn't be so sure of it. You might know Occlumency, but it won't save you. Not for long.'

'I'm not going to be scared because of your words. You need more than that to scare me. And in case you'd like to ask: no, I'm not asking for trouble, but merely pointing out that that type of conversation is useless with me, unless you've got nothing better to do to kill your free time. Then you're welcome to try and scare me with your witty words.'

Riddle looked amused. 'It _is_ highly entertaining to have that type of conversation with you. It's very wise of you that you don't seek trouble, because here, as you might have realized, there is more than planty of that.'

'Yes, I do realize that, better than you think. I'd prefer not to get into any of those if I could, but I'm not going to bend down and be a pushover if this is what it takes to avoid them. Some things just can't be avoided.'

'Good atitude. It would be boring indeed if you let yourself be a pushover.'

'Then it surely won't be boring, because I have no intentions of being one.'

'Brilliant,' Riddle's eyes were sparkling. 'Just what I needed to keep myself entertained.'

'One thing, Riddle. I don't like to be treated like a toy either, so it would be very nice of you if you didn't treat me like one.'

'Oh, but you're not. You're a mystery. And I like those. Specifically, I like solving them.'

'Then it's all right. If I'm a mystery to you, then it doesn't trouble me. I'd prefer to stay a mystery to you. I'm not going to make it any easier for you, just in case you didn't notice.'

'I'd have to be really blind and thoughtless to think that. Hope you won't change your mind.'

'I don't change my mind very easily.'

'Even better,' his smirk widened. 'Then I'll see you tomorrow.'

'If I live through this night,' Hermione said dramatically.

'I know you will,' he made it sound more like a promise. 'Good night, Rushoff.'

'Good night, Riddle.'

And with that they both went their seperate ways.

_**A/N**__** You surely know what I'm gonna say... Please, review! xD**_


	4. Fighting

_**A/N**__** This chapter is a little bit longer. Still, I hope you'll like it =]**_

Hermione woke up in the morning, her head spinning a little. She wondered what actually had happened. For a moment she thought it was all only a dream, but as she looked around, she knew it wasn't. If it was a dream, she wouldn't have woken up in a dormitory painted in green and silver. She'd wake up in a bedroom she shared with Ginny at the Grimmauld Place 12. Besides, her true dormitory was red and gold. It _was_ her true dormitory, right? The first time she'd been sorted into Gryffindor. So that was the house she belonged in, wasn't it? But the Sorting Hat wanted to place her in Slytherin. It was thanks to her pleading that it didn't. So why didn't it listen this time? Maybe she wouldn't have to stay here for long, so it didn't really matter.

As she looked more closely, she saw that all her dormmates were still sleeping. She silently removed all the protective enchacements she put around her bed the night before, using wandless silent magic. It worked perfectly. Now, that she came to think of it, Dumbledore must've already known her when she started her schooling at Hogwarts. He must have...

* * *

_'Miss Granger!' Hermione heard an elderly voice call out. She was just about to walk out of the Great Hall. She was tired. It was her first day at Hogwarts and it surely was stressful._

_Hermione turned around to see Dumbledore still sitting in his chair at the Professors' Table. She wondered how it was possible. She heard him call out as though he was a mere few feet away and he was that far. Besides, no one seemed to notice a thing. She thought it must've been something she hadn't read about before, there had to be a lot of things like that. It was a wizarding world._

_'Miss Granger, do not worry. I'm using Telepathy to contact you. It is Dumbledore. Of course you must have noticed, I saw you looking my way. Anyway, explanations will come later, now I'd like to ask you to wait for me outside the Great Hall, in that staircase on the right. I'd prefer it if no one saw you. I know it sounds strange, but the matter I want to discuss with you is a secret and I'd like it to stay that way.'_

_Hermione once again looked in the direction of the Professors' Table, to make sure she wasn't imagining things, and sure enough, Dumbledore was looking at her intently, smiling friendly. When she looked at him, he nodded lightly and turned to say something to professor McGonagall._

_Hermione did as she was told, reassured by the nod she was given by Dumbledore. She hadn't heard abything about Telepathy existing in the wizarding world. But on the other hand, Dumbledore was a very powerful wizard, he had a lot of talents and abilities other wizards didn't have. Well, she had to wait. He'd told her the explanation would come._

_After about five minutes she heard somebody approaching her and she straightened up, hoping it was Dumbledore. It was him indeed._

_'Miss Granger, I'd like to talk with you in my cabinet, if you don't mind. You must be terribly tired after a day as exhausting as this one.'_

_'I'm only a bit tired, sir, but it can wait. Now I am mostly curious as to what you could want from me. I didn't do anything bad, did I?'_

_'No, of course you didn't. On the contrary. I will explain it to you when we are in my cabinet. This way, please.'_

_Dumbledore led the way. The corridors were empty, but it was to be expected. Everyone was in their dormitories by now._

_They came to a halt in front of a figure of a golden eagle. 'Lemon drops!' Dumbledore said to it and stepped into a small nishe the eagle was standing in. Hermione followed him._

_The floor they were standing on starteg to move and it moved higher and higher until they could no longer see the corridor. They stopped when they reached a solid wooden door, which Dumblebore opened. Both of them stepped in._

_The room was round, full of tiny silver strange machines which Hermione had no idea what were for. There was the Sorting Hat on the wall, as well as many portrets of who Hermione knew to be the former headmasters of Hogwarts. There was a desk near the window, with two seats on both sides: one very comfortable and big, opposite to the door and with its back to the window, and the second, smaller, but also looking very comfortable, facing the window. Dumbledore sat in the bigger one and he invited Hermione to sit on the second one, what she quickly did._

_'What did you want to talk about with me, sir?' she asked tentatively._

_'Hermione, I know you are a very special witch. You are very wise for your age, and experienced by life. I feel that your magic is much stronger than the others', and combined with your wits it could turn out to be even more impressive. I will not lie to you, Hermione. Hard times are ahead of us. You will have to choose, but that is for the future. I am not asking you to tell me that you will always be loyal to me, I just want you to be fully aware of your future choices and to expand your abilities. Maybe I am an old fool, but I cannot let you waste your talent. That is why I would like you to have extra lessons that will help you discover all of your abilities. Will you agree to this? And remember: you do not and will not have any obligations involving my person.'_

_'Sir... I... I don't know what to say. In the first place: of course I agree, how could I let a possibility like that pass by? As to the other things you've told me: I've no idea what choices you're talking about, so I can't say that I will make the right ones, the ones you'd expect me to make. But I admire you as a person and I don't think I wouldn't be loyal to you. But again, I don't want to say for sure, because I don't like saying things for sure, when I know perfectly well that times change. Right now I can't imagine things that would make me unloyal to you, but I'm sure there'll be things that won't be just white or just black. I'm sorry, sir.'_

_Dumbledore just smiled, his light blue eyes sparkling with mirth. 'This is the answer I've been expecting from a person like you Hermione. Do not be sorry, you have no reason to. You are very right, my dear. There will be things that won't be just white or just black. You couldn't have given me any better response. As expected of you. I will inform you of your extra lessons. Are you sure you can deal with them?'_

_'If you think so, sir, then I'm sure as well. I hope I won't dissapoint you.'_

_'I'm sure you won't, Hermione, I'm sure you won't.'_

* * *

Hermione sighed as she lightly got up and out of the bed, heading for the bathroom. She didn't want to wake up her dormmates.

_'Yeah, Dumbledore surely knew it was me when I came to Hogwarts, now I can see it. But does that mean that everything I'll do here have already had its effects on the future? Or can I still change it? Urgh! Time is really a complicated thing.'_

When Hermione entered the bathroom, first thing she did was washing her face from the remainings of dream. She dried it with a towel. When she looked up to the mirror hanging above the sinks, she couldn't believe it. She wasn't the same! Her hair wasn't untamable like before, still bushy, but falling down with soft, chocolate curly cascades down to her waist. She could've sworn it'd been shorted and lighter before. Her eyes had been honey-coloured, now they were more cynamon-like, sparkling like there was brocade in them. Here eyelashes were now thicker and longer, like a curtain around her eyes. Her eyebrows were thinner, her lips fuller, softer-looking and darker, her face looking somewhat more aristocratic.

She looked at her body. It seemed different as well. She was still quite small, but more curvy, her tummy just perfect, definetely not fat, but not too thin, with a right curve to it. Her legs seemed to look better too.

She couldn't believe it. Has she always been like this? Maybe she just didn't notice? Or the trip to the past tired her and now she imagined things? No, it was imposibble. That much couldn't have been only her imagination. Or maybe the trip had changed her. Well, one plus of it. Whatever the reason, she decided to stop thinking about it, knowing it would only bring her a headache. She took a quick shower, dressed and went down for the breakfast.

She was one of the first students in the Great Hall. At the Slytherin Table there was only a few second- and third-years. And Riddle. Oh God. Just perfect. She took her seat in the nearest free space. Tom appeared right near her in a second.

'Good morning, Rushoff,' he greeted her coldly.

'Good morning, Riddle,' she replied just as coldly.

She put on food on her plate and started eating, ignoring Riddle totally. He just looked at her intently. She automatically blocked her mind from his vision.

'Tom! There you are!' there was a voice from behind them and Hermione's dormmate showed up. Blondie with long straight hair, long legs and sharp face, typical beauty. 'Urgh! What are you doing with that... that...'

'Oh, what a rich vocabulary you have,' Hermione snorted, not even looking in the direction of the girl.

Tom smirked. The girl got angrier, 'Stupid Mudblood,' she spat. 'You know what she did?'

'No, but I'm bound to find out,' Tom sighed, but the girl apparently didn't catch the sarcasm.

'She put wards around her bed. Coward! We watched her all the time, we've no idea when she did that.'

'For your information, it is not cowardry, but I've no intentions of wasting my energy on you. I had a very stressful day and I needed to rest. Besides, no matter how relaxed I am, you still will be a waste of my energy. And one more thing. It is called a silent wandless magic. You know, the thing with the wards. Quite useful, I tell you.'

'Stupid Mudblood!'

'Someone would've thought you'd come up with something new by now. But I knew I shouldn't be expecting that much of you when I just looked at you,' Hermione raised one of her elegant eyebrows gently.

'She's offending me! Tom, do something to her!'

'Oh yeah, very good idea to get a guy's attention, blondie. Make him protect you. But you know, I can't see a way he can protect you from your stupidity. Unless he kills you, that is.'

Tom by the time looked very amused. The girl turned back and walked out, tears of anger in her eyes.

'What, no breakfast? Sure, it would ruin your diet. No vitamins. A bit of inteligency could do you some bad, especially when you're not used to it,' Hermione said after the girl, when she was still in the earshot. 'Feisty,' Hermione snickered.

'I think you angered her,' Tom said, still amused.

'Oh, really? I hope not. You know, the things she'll do to me in revenge!' Hermione said dramatically.

'You know, Mudblood, as long as you don't touch me, it can be very interesting to be around you,' Tom hissed.

'And now you offended me so badly, a thing I'm not used to,' Hermione paused her drama. 'If you think you'll anger me by that, you have a surprise coming. And I'm not going to be your full-time entertainment. And for the touching thing-'

Hermione turned to him, patted him on the head and started walking out of the Great Hall. She still heard Riddle's furious breathing and was sure his nostrils were flaring, but she didn't care.

'_You will pay dearly, Mudblood_,' Tom hissed low in Parseltongue.

'_We'll see who'll pay and for what, Riddle,_' Hermione hissed back through her shoulder.

She heard Riddle's gasp and saw him freeze in his place, his face expressing shock. She still didn't care. She knew bloody well what he was capable of, but she just couldn't bring herself to care, she was too tired of all of this. Being there felt so unreal, like a bad dream, but her surroundings, as she headed for her first class, couldn't have been more real. She knew she wasn't dreaming, but she wished she was. She wanted to go back home. Back there she felt much better. Some people really knew her, the whole truth about her, and it was very comforting.

* * *

_'Here will take place your first extra lesson, Hermione,' Dumbledore said when they entered the Dungeons, but went to the ones that were hid so well no one would guess they were there. 'Professor Snape will teach you how to defend your mind from being read and how to read other's minds. He will teach you Telepathy as well. I won't be teaching you that, because I know that professor Snape is just as good as me, and it is important that you learn to get along with people with his attitude. I think he will be a better teacher for you.'_

_'Yes, sir,' Hermione answered, trusting Dumbledore, but at the same time not wanting to meet Snape, who wasn't very friendly towards her. She was sure it was because she was a Muggleborn._

_In one of the hidden dungeons there was a room with only one desk and two chairs. One of them was occupied by Snape, who was looking as always._

_'Severus, I trust you will take good care of Miss Granger,' Dumbledore said._

_'_Miss Granger,_' Snape sneered._

_'Severus! You are not to talk about that,' Dumbledore looked at him urgently._

_'I know. But this whole thing is just bothering me,' Snape replied._

_'Please, Severus, we've been through this.'_

_'Of course. I know the rules and I'm going to obey them.'_

_'Divine. Thank you very much,' Dumbledore nodded at Snape and left, patting Hermione lightly on the back._

_'Miss Granger, sit on the chair.'_

_Hermione did as she was told. She sat, waiting patiently for Snape's next words._

_'Have you ever heard about Occlumency?'_

_'Of course. It's a hard thing to learn, only few people had managed to master it, as there was no real need for that, seeing as not much people knows Legilimency. Occlumency is the art of shielding your mind from being read. Legilimency is the ability to read other's minds.'_

_'That's right. It is pretty useless in everyday life, but when time comes, it is an essential ability. When someone knows Legilimency, they can know whatever they want about you: your greatest fears, best-kept secrets... There is nothing you can hide from that person. He is able to find out any strategy that you may plan against him. You're downright vulnerable. That's why Occlumency is the most important. It is also easier to learn than Legilimency. Of course, mastering Occlumency's not easy at all, but the basics are easier to learn. That's why we'll start with that.'_

* * *

Hermione smiled remembering her first extra lessons. How much she got to know! And she got to work with great wizards.

She checked her first lesson. Double Potions. With Slughorn. She was quite sure she'd heard of him.

_'Oh yeah! The Slug Club! He chose the most talented students or the ones with the best connections and invited them to his parties. I wonder if he's doing it right now. Well, probably yes, I s'ppose he's been doing that from the very beginning. Never mind. I still hope I'll return to my times quickly.'_

When she reached the Dungeons, she found it was quite empty. Only a few Gryffindors were there. All of them shot her nasty looks as she entered the classroom.

_'This is riddiculous! They don't even know me and they already hate me, just because I'm a Slytherin! Has it always been like this? Have I hated someone who didn't deserve this? Just because of the stupid prejudices? I think I understand now what people want to say, when they tell you you should think how the other side of the conflict feels. I've always thought _all_ Slytherins deserve that treating. But maybe not all of them had been like that. Maybe some of them could've actually been nice, hadn't it been for students from other houses teaming up against them. No other houses ever cheer for Slytherin. They always cheer for someone else. My problem is, nobody likes me. Not only students from other houses, but even the ones from _my_ house. I mean, my current house. I don't understant anything anymore. I've had no idea it'd be like this when I said that not everything's gonna be just white or just black. Oh no, I had no idea.'_

She sat at an empty table, thinking that if she was lucky enough, she'd sit alone. She wished she'd be lucky.

People started to come and take their places. All tables were occupied by the time professor Slughorn started the lessons. Only one chair was empty, the one by Hermione's side. Hermione smiled in her thoughts. This one time, she actually was lucky. Or so she thought.

'I'm very sorry, sir, but professor Dumbledore needed to talk with me. Here's the note he gave me so that I could be excused,' Riddle said as he entered the classroom, nodding at Slughorn and handing him a piece of paper.

'It's alright, Tom. I would've believed you without that note, but I'm glad that you're so thoughtful. Please, take your seat,' was Slughorn's reply.

When Riddle looked around for an empty place, he froze when he realized the only one was at Hermione's place. Hermione had already been looking at him with narrowed eyes. Without a word Riddle took his place near Hermione, shooting her a glare.

'And who are you?' Slughorn asked as his attention was drawn to Hermione.

'Hermione Rushoff, sir. I'm a new student here.'

'Oh, welcome then, Hermione. I'm the head of our noble house. I hope you will do well here.'

'I hope so too, professor.'

Slughorn started his lesson. He asked many questions, and most of them was answered by Hermione and Tom. They were very often the only ones who knew the answers. It looked as though Riddle wasn't very pleased by the fact that Hermione knew just as much as he did.

'Well then, let's practise,' Slughorn said.

'We'll see if you're any good in practical things,' Riddle hissed.

'Don't get your hopes up,' Hermione smirked, pleased that she annoyed him that way.

They had to work alone. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione's and Riddle's potions were ready, looking identically perfect. Slughorn examined them.

'Perfect. Just perfect! Hermione, you are doing better than well. Tom, at last you have a partner worth of yourself.'

'We'll see about that, professor,' Riddle snickered.

'I've already told you not to get your hopes up,' Hermione said coldly.

Slugghorn just clapped his hands together.

'A perfect match indeed!' he exclaimed. 'Now, you should go or you will be late to your next class.'

'Goodbye, professor,' they both said at the same time.

They left the Dungeons hand in hand, ignoring each other, looking ahead of themselves. When they were alone in a corridor, Riddle turned to Hermione and hissed at her, 'You should know your place Mudblood. If you knew what's good for you, you wouldn't try to stand out so much.'

'I'm not trying to stand out. I merely answer when I know the answer. It's not my fault if you have complexes and try to show off.'

Hermione knew she'd said too much. _A lot_ too much. Riddle stood in front of her, glaring at her maliciously and she glared back. Riddle laughed mirthlessly.

'If you want to actually look scary, you need to grow up, dwarf.'

'I think it is _you_ who need to grow up, Riddle. You think you're so scary? Well, you're wrong. I'm not afraid of you.'

'You shouldn't have said that. You don't know what I am capable of,' all traces of any laughter left his face, his lips tightening.

'Oh, I know it better than any of your suck-ups, that is, _followers_, here do,' Hermione glared at him.

Riddle's jaw dropped down a little. 'How do you know that? You shouldn't know that. Well, anyway, you should be even more afraid.'

'Because I'm a Mudblood? Do you really think I steal your magic? You saw I'm not as stupid as you'd like me to be. I think you just have complexes. Maybe because of your parents, or more exactly, your father, I'm not sure. But think about it. You're going to ruin other people's lives and in the end you'll loose. You'll loose, because there always will be people that will stand up to you no matter what. Do you think that's impossible? Well, it surely isn't.'

'Pay attention to what you say, Mudblood,' Riddle hissed low, his jaw tightening, his eyes narrowing. Hermione could've sworn she saw a glitter of red in his eyes. She gasped.

'So you've already came that far?' she whispered.

Riddle was taken aback by that. The students started to come, so they went with them, not saying a word to each other.

The next class was Charms with professor Flitwick. Slytherin shared the class with Ravenclaw. Again, the ones who knew the answers to all of the questions and did the best at the practise were Hermione and Riddle. Not even Ravenclaws were able to get a result near theirs. It was even harder for them, because Hermione and Riddle tried to outdo each other. Especially Riddle wanted to see Hermione's weak side.

'I told you it's not going to work, Riddle,' Hermione said caressly, not even looking at him.

'Mind your own business, Mudblood,' Riddle hissed in response.

* * *

By the end of the lessons nothing changed. They were still the best, competing with each other. None of them gave up. People noticed the tense air between the two. It was hard not to. They still sat together. Probably because it was easier to glare at each other that way.

After the last lesson that went just like the rest, Riddle took his books and left the classroom first, his black robe fluttering behind him. Hermione smirked at that. She knew she was in trouble, but she tried not to think about it. She decided not to worry too much about that. She wasn't going to be a pushover and that was decided. Riddle himself had said that he was glad about it. Has he changed his decision? Or maybe it amused him as long as she didn't outdo him. And that meant that it didn't amuse him anymore. He's met someone his age and in his house, a Mudblood to that, that didn't respect him at all. It must've been quite new to him. But she wasn't going to give up.

Hermione went outside, to sit near the Black Lake. She saw someone sitting there already. He was big and hairy, wearing Gryffindor robes. She immediately recognised Hagrid. She hesitated a bit, but then decided to try and talk to him. He must've already seen her when she entered the Great Hall her first day here anyway.

'Hi... You're Hagrid, right?' she asked tentatively.

He turned to face her, his expression turning to the one of wariness. Hermione felt something inside her twist. Hagrid... Good, old Hagrid... making that face... because of her.

'What do yeh want?' he asked.

'I saw you sitting here, you looked sad, so I thought I'd ask what's wrong,' Hermione said quietly, but sincerely.

'An' you thought I'd believe that?' he excused.

'I knew you wouldn't. But I thought I'd try anyway. I'm used to not being trusted. And to being hated as well,' she admitted, her shoulders slumping slightly.

Hagrid's expression softened a bit. 'Well, Riddle did look angry with yeh. As did Malfoy. And that blondie.'

'Well, Riddle thought it was entertaining to have me around, but I think he changed his mind when I turned out to be able to outdo him,' Hermione smirked.

'Outdo him?! Wow, you must be good,' Hagrid said with admiration. 'Why do you care? Yeh know, 'bout meh.'

'Because you seem to be nice. I know what you think about Slytherins. But I'm not like that. I think I could be if I was one from my first year. I started to wonder if some of them could've truned out to be nice if they were sorted somewhere else. Because, you see, people all treat us like scum from the very beginning. I know they have their reasons, a lot of them. But they never gave one of us even a slight chance. So I think a lot of Slytherins hadn't been like that from the very beginning, just became that way when they were accepted only by their housemates. But it wouldn't be my case. I'm not accepted by anyone. By students from other houses, because I'm a Slytherin, and by my own house, because I'm a Muggleborn. Moreover, I stand up to them, don't let them make a pushover out of me, so they really hate me. It's an inner circle.'

'Yeh know, I think you're righ'. That's possible. I've never thought 'bout it,' Hagrid had a thoughtful look.

'So what's wrong?'

'Nothin' much. The same thing as always, people don't accept meh. They say I shouldn't study here, that I'll only bring troubles,' Hagrid's arms slumped down.

'Don't worry 'bout them. They're just full of prejudices. Dumbledore trusts you, and he's a wise man, isn't he? And surely not all people think that. Just do your thing, you can't force them to accept you, but if you don't pay attention to them, they'll understand that their words don't do any difference. They'll get bored of it,' Hermione patted his shoulder lightly.

Hagrid smiled. 'Thanks...' he trailed off, realizing he didn't know her name.

'Hermione Rushoff, to your services,' Hermione bowed elegantly and Hagrid laughed. 'See? That's what I mean. Let people see this side of you, if they don't like it, they must be stupid.'

'Yeh seem really nice. But what're your housemates gonna say when they see you talkin' with meh?'

'I don't know, nor do I care. If they don't like it, that's their problem. I'm not gonna stay away from you just because they say so. They're not gonna rule me.'

'I gotta go, but we'll see later, righ'?' Hagrid asked Hermione hopefully.

'Sure. As long as you want to. I like you, you're nice,' Hermione smiled warmly at him. At last an ally. A great one to that.

'So are yeh. See yeh later then,' Hagrid waved at her and she waved back, smiling, at last feeling better.

'So you actually can smile. And an oaf like him can make you. How much lower can you stoop?' she heard from behind her. She didn't have to turn to know that it was Riddle.

She straightened up, raising her chin, her good humor gone. She didn't turn to him as she said, 'That's your definition of stooping low. And don't call Hagrid that. And yes, I _can_ smile, but seeing my current environment, no wonder I don't.'

She slowly turned around to face Riddle. She wasn't surprised when she found him with narrowed eyes, that dangerous spark in them, his nostrils flailing, his chest raising and falling quickly with his rapid breathing, his hands balled tightly in fists. She just stood there, motionless, waiting for his move. The sunset was nearing its end, everything was getting darker with each passing minute. Wind was blowing, making their robes flutter around them. Hermione's hair was flying around her, making her look like a mysterious being, far too beautiful to be true.

'_You'll learn your lesson and then you'll be sorry you didn't listen,_' he hissed in Parseltongue.

'_Stop trying to scare me, Riddle. You know nothing about me,'_' she hissed back.

'_But I'll find out. We'll see who'll laugh last,_' he promised her.

'_Exactly. We'll see,_' she agreed.

He must've been really pissed off, as he just took his wand out and pointed it towards Hermione. She saw it coming, so she took out her wand in time to block the first curse he sent towards her. She cast the next curse, silent one, her wrist doing difficult movements, her legs moving noislessly. It all seemed natural with her. With him too. He blocked the curse and threw his own, his movements graceful, all the while composed as always. Hermione easily blocked the curse and sent the next one at the same time Riddle threw his own. The curses met in the middle, creating a source of light. Both of them held onto their wands, not wanting to loose, but the light became even lighter, more visible, so both of them decided to stop at the exact same moment.

'_This is not over, Mudblood,_'Riddle hissed.

'_I was hoping you'd say that,_' Hermione smirked.

They hid their wands and went back to the castle hand in hand, again not talking, just looking ahead of themselves, their jaws set tightly.

When they entered the Common Room, there were people sitting there. They looked at them as they entered. They went straight to their dormitories, without saying a word to anyone.

Hermione was more glad then ever to her "extra" teachers.

* * *

_Hermione waited as Dubledore walked three times back and forth by the wall. When he stopped, there was a door in the wall. Dumbledore opened it and motioned for Hermione to step in._

_The room was dark, with only few lanterns iluminating it. It looked mysteriously. Hermione liked it. But she couldn't believe it when she saw who was standing there. Her next teacher was... Lucius Malfoy?!_

_'Good morning, Lucius,' Dumbledore greeted the man._

_'Good morning, Albus,' Lucius replied, his posture as always haughty._

_'Good morning,' Hermione said to Malfoy, deciding it was only right._

_'Good morning,' Lucius replied, his eyes moving to her, scrutinizing her. 'Albus, do you really think it is such a good idea to teach a second-year things like _that_?' he asked._

_'Trust me, Lucius. Will you do it?'_

_'I agreed, didn't I? I'm not going to back off on my word. I'm just wondering what's so special about this girl.'_

_'You've heard from Severus how go her lessons with him, didn't you? It only reassures me that I did the right thing.'_

_'Yes, I've heard it indeed. I'm wondering why she's so special. She's a... a Muggleborn. They've never stood out.'_

_'We will talk about it later, when we have more time. Until then, Lucius!'_

_'Good bye!' Malfoy replied._

_Dumbledore left. Hermione watched him walk out of the room, then turned to her new teacher._

_'What we're going to do here is no playing around. You may be very young, but if I'm going to teach you, I will teach you properly. That means it can be dangerous. We will work with very dark curses here.'_

_'I know it, professor Dumbledore has warned me.'_

_'Very well then. Let's start.'_

**_A/N_****_ This is it. This is the last chapter I've written so far. So please, review and tell me if I should continue it or not =]  
_**


	5. New Senses

_**A/N I'm very sorry it took me so long to update, I won't be making any excuses, because that's not the point. But here's the next chapter of my story, I hope you'll like it =] Of course, I DO NOT own Harry Potter, I only invented this fanfic.**_

Hermione woke up startled, yet again. Her past was coming back to her and she couldn't help it. She laid back down, knowing she had a lot of time before the sunrise.

* * *

_'Who're you, lass?' a boy asked._

_Hermione turned around to find Oliver Wood looking at her, his eyebrows furrowed gently. She knew his name, because she heard older girls gossiping about him._

_'Hermione Granger,' she answered._

_'Oliver Wood, fifth year, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain,' he sat beside her on the floor of Gryffindor Common Room, in front of the fireplace, holding out his hand towards her._

_Hermione shook hands with him, smiling slightly._

_'What're ya doin' here at this hour?'_

_'Can't sleep,' she replied honestly._

_'Too excited?' he grinned._

_'Nope. I have troubles falling asleep in general.'_

_'Better do somethin' with that. Than maybe ya'll look better.'_

_'Says a broomstick with a patch of hair on top,' she looked at him, raising her eyebrows at him._

_Wood's mouth fell open._

_'Haha! Good one, girl! Wood's never been told something like that before by any girl. Even first-years are mostly head-over-hills for him.'_

_Hermione turned her head in time to see a redhead sitting on her other side._

_'Percy Weasley, fifth year, Gryffindor Prefect,' he introduced himself, extending his hand to her._

_'Hermione Granger, first year, no extra-abilities,' she rolled her eyes, shaking hands with the boy._

_'What did you expect, people need to know that I'm a prefect,' Percy defended himself._

_'Yup, but you have that badge for something, don't you?' she smirked, pointing at his Prefect badge._

_Oliver laughed. 'She's right, Perce. You're just bragging.'_

_'You did the very same thing.'_

_'Yeah, but how'd she know that if I didn't tell her?'_

_'Well, you do walk as though you spent your whole life stuck on an uncomfortable broom,' Hermione smirked._

_Percy laughed while Oliver glared at her._

_'I already like you,' Percy said when he regained his composure at least a bit._

_Hermione smiled at that._

_

* * *

_And now the second friend she made at Hogwarts turned against what he once believed to be good, against his family and former friends. It was almost as though he joined Voldemort.

_'I'm the one to talk!' _Hermione thought bitterly. _'Here I am, in times of Voldemort, doing nothing, and in SLYTHERIN. But I'm not fraternizing with him either. And I've dueled with him. Oh, I shouldn't have done that! But on the other hand, he would've killed me if I didn't.'_

But that wasn't what she'd been dreaming about.

_'Mione! Mione, where are you?'_

_'Here, Cedric!'_

_Hermione emerged from behind a tree near the Black Lake. Cedric smiled as he saw her. But then his smile faded as he took a closer look at her. She was shivering, her shoulders slumped, her hair wilder than normally, her eyes full of worry._

_'Mione, what happened?' he asked, coming up to her and hugging her tightly to him._

_'I... Cedric, please, don't do that last task! Please, don't!' she begged him, shivering in his arms._

_'We've been through this. It's dangerous, but extra precautions had been taken, so I can, in the worst case, walk out of it with scratches , bruises, just hurt, nothing uncurable,' he ran his hands up and down her back soothingly._

_'But... But I have that strange feeling again! The same one as when my brother died!' she cried out._

_Cedric froze. He didn't know how to respond to that. He knew about Hermione's brother, she'd told him all about it._

_'Right now probably it's not what your feeling. You're just very worried about me. I'm glad that you care about me,' he resumed running his hands up and down her back._

_'Of course I care about you, Cedric, and of course I'm very worried. I'm horrified! But you don't understand. I'm hundred percent _sure_ it's the same feeling. Something bad will happen. To _you_. You know I care about Harry as well, but I didn't get that feeling towards him.'_

_'Maybe it's because he's better than me and he's been through a lot worse, so you're not that worried about him.'_

_'You know it's not true. You know it's not...' Hermione hugged herself deeper into his chest, but didn't say anything more._

_

* * *

__'I should've made him stay! I should've bound him magically! I knew it'd happen and I didn't do a bloody thing!'_ Hermione yelled at herself in her mind. She'd never forgiven herself for that. It still haunted her.

She removed the enchantements from around her bed and quietly made her way to the Common Room, still in her green silk night-gown that reached her midthigh, hung on thin straps from her shoulders and had a very low neckline.

When she reached the Common Room, she found it wasn't empty. Riddle was sitting on the couch, reading a book. She knew turning back would do her no good, because Riddle'd already noticed her, his eyes tearing away from his lecture to look at the intruder, moving up and down her body then staying at her eyes, his expression unreadable. She had no idea what to expect.

'Can't sleep? Did you realize this late that you shouldn't have stood up to me?' he sneered.

'Don't compliment yourself. My sleep, or lack of it thereof, has nothing to do with your snotty person,' she retorted, not caring if she insulted him even more.

'Then you really are the most naive person I've ever seen. I'm usually glad that people can be naive, but you can consider yourself an exception. You piss me off.'

'Why, thank you. Now I feel exceptional.'

'Don't compliment yourself,' he mocked.

Somebody came from the girls' dormitory. Hermione turned to see the same blondie she'd seen before. She was wearing the same night-gown as Hermione. The girl looked at her with hatred, then turned her eyes to Riddle, who, Hermione's just noticed, was wearing green pyjama, the last three buttons on the shirt unbuttoned, his perfect pale collarbone showing. His hair was still perfect and he was looking as composed as ever. Hermione had to admit that he was a fine example of a man.

_'What am I thinking? This is _Riddle_, for Merlin's sake, future Voldemort! And I'm checking him up.'_

The girl's eyes turned all soft and admiring. Hermione rolled her eyes.

'Tom, why aren't you sleeping? Can I help with it?' she said suggestively and Hermione shook her head slightly.

'Not really, Layna. There are better things to do than sleep,' Riddle smirked.

'Oh, of course! Like having fun,' Layna smirked back.

_'More like thinking of ruling the wizarding world and doing Horcruxes,'_ Hermione said to Riddle telepathically, with a smirk of her own.

Riddle's gone pale and froze in his place. He looked at Hermione with questioning eyes and she just continued smirking.

'How... how...' he started, but then he remembered their company. He composed himself, turning back to the girl, 'Right. So why don't you go and have fun?'

Layna's face fell visibly. Hermione looked highly amused.

'But... aren't you going to have your fun as well?'

'Oh, I'm having fun, I assure you.'

Layna's eyes turned to glare at Hermione. 'With the _Mudblood_?!' she asked incredulously.

'Didn't you know? We, Mudbloods, are great bed-slaves,' Hermione sneered. 'So sorry, but you have no chances.'

'I... I'm way better than her! You know that!'

Riddle looked amused as well. 'I don't. I've just found out that Mudbloods can actually be very useful.'

'Let me show you. I'll be better than ever!'

'Sorry, but the night of threesomes is tomorrow, so you'll just have to wait. I know _I_ can't wait,' Hermione wiggled her eyebrows at her.

Riddle chuckled amusedly. Layna glared at her yet again.

'Your glaring at me won't make me disappear. Neither will anything you try to do to me. I'm quite good at survival. I've had lots of practise. Good night!'

'I'm not finished with you!' the blondie spat out as she turned to go back to the dormitory.

'I'd told you I can't wait,' Hermione blowed her a kiss.

Layna disappeared in girls' dormitory.

'Oh, maybe she's not into threesomes? Too bad,' Hermione mocked, turning to face Riddle again, who was still smirking.

'Were you telling the truth about those bed-slaves?' he raised an eyebrow at her lightly.

'You've no idea,' she narrowed her eyes.

Riddle's smirk disappeared. 'I probably shouldn't be surprised that you know Telepathy. But how the hell do you know about the Horcuxes?'

'That book's about them, isn't it?'

'You've read it? You couldn't have done a Horcrux. I'll never believe it!'

'No one's asking you to believe, neither did I say I made one. But I do know the book.'

'We'll talk later, in a more private place,' he looked at her intently.

'I've no intentions of talking to you about that, especially not in private places,' she hissed.

'No one's asking about your intentions,' he retorted.

Hermione knew her temper once again brought her a lot of troubles.

'Riddle, let's sort this out once and for all. I'm not going to tell you anything about myself, you'll have to find out for yourself if you want to. I didn't make any Horcruxes, but I know about them. I'm not going to follow you around like a lost puppy, so if you want to hurt me, then do it, but be a man and do it yourself. I'm not going to talk with you in any private places, because I simply don't like the idea. If you think I'm naive, that's your problem, I don't give a damn about what you think of me. Any more questions?'

'You've made yourself very clear, so I'll do the same. I _will_ find out what you're hiding, don't delude yourself that I won't. I don't like lost puppies and I don't want you to follow me around, so that's not a problem. A matter of your good manners is. You should have more respect towards me. It would do you some good. I'm not going to hurt you, at least not now, I don't want to waste my enegry on something so stupid and useless, but when I will, I won't ask you for your permission, neither for your opinion on how should I deliever your punishment. If I want to talk with you in private places, then I will, whether you like it or not, and I don't need your permission here either, not that I need it at all. I don't give a damn about what you think of me either, as long as you don't bring me any troubles, so I don't have a problem with that, I was merely pointing out the truth. Wake up and stop thinking that just because I talk to you you mean something or that you're good and smart. I tolerate you, because that's the best way for now, but there might come a time that I won't be able to stand you and then you'll see how much you mean to me, or rather that you don't mean a thing to me. You're not exceptional, you just happen to be mysterious and you can't even control it, you just have to be. You like playing with fire, so you'll get burned.'

'You say big words, but they really mean nothing. I'm not going to respect you in any way, because I don't think that you deserve it. You may be smart, but it's not enough for me to respect a person. You represent no real values and you think so highly of yourself when what you do is complex-driven. You want to make yourself big, you want people to respect you, to fear your sole name, you want to control them. I've never thought I mean something to you or that you think that I'm good. No one means a thing to you. You can find people useful, but nothing more. You've no idea why people care about each other, it seems stupid and unprofitable to you. Do you really think it brings only pain and disappointment? It's a part of it, of course. But there are things that you won't understand until you feel them yourself. You won't understand how a single person can mean everything to you until you find that person. But you won't find that person until you want to. And you don't want to. You think it's a waste of time. But not for all people. A lot of them may fear you, but I'm not sure if a single person _respects_ you, because it's not the same thing. You can fear someone, but only that. When you respect someone, you do that not out of fear, but out of admiration, and that's another thing that's hard for you to understand. You may know a lot about people's minds, but you can't understand the most important thing. And because of that you will fail. You may do a lot of bad, but in the end you'll fail.'

'I'm not the one who says big words without meaning here. It's you. Maybe you think them to be true. It looks as though in your world you experienced a lot of pain, but you had people you could rely on. That's why you believe that shit. But soon you'll find out that people here aren't as good as you think. Their prejudices are taking the better of them. If you weren't a Slytherin, maybe you'd find a companion, but like that you'll be all alone. You'll see that people are full of shit and in closer look worthless. They think they care about something, but that's not very stable. I've seen a lot of people's minds. They're a lot simpler than you make them be. Do you really like to complicate things? Or maybe you do it unconciously? Either way, if you saw things my way, your life would be a lot easier.'

'I'm not the one complicating things here. It's you. You think the only way to survive is being cunny and unfriendly, not trusting anyone and doing everything for yourself. For me it's sad. You have no real goals. I remember my friends very clearly. They risked their lives for me more than once, never asking anything in return. We fought, we argued, but in the end we always stuck together, because that's what friends do. I'd do anything for them, even if it meant sacrificing my life. You may think these are empty words, but I can't blame you for that. You grew up alone, with everyone thinking that you're a freak, with horrible memories of your Muggle father, with people hating you just because you're a Slytherin, the only ones that didn't hate you were your fellow housemates, but they were not to be trusted too much. But I deeply believe what I'm saying because I've experienced it, and no one, not even you, can take that memories away from me. I believe in my friends, I trust them, just like they did when I was in trouble. It's something that's too hard for you to understand. Won't you ever accept it? That people can just care about each other, without any hidden business?'

'You seem to know me well. You gave me a psychoanalysis. You think you got me well? That's your business. As is what you believe in. Your stupid believes. One day you'll realize how mistaken you are. Then you'll be sorry you didn't listen to me. Life is easier that way. Just getting along with people because it's useful to you. No strings attached. When you get involved sentimentaly, it just cofuses you and no good is made out of it. You're just that easier to fool.'

'Believing in people doesn't mean that I'm easy to fool. I wouldn't trust that blondie, for example. Believing isn't being stupid. You mistake these two things. You trust people that can be trusted. Of course you can make mistakes, but you can make mistakes in opinionating people's usefulness as well. You're just too narrow-minded to see the other side of the medal.'

'I don't really care what you believe in.'

'So why do you talk with me about that?'

'Because I've nothing better to do. Even a Mudblood can do as a time-killer.'

'Keep trying to insult me. I'm quite used to it. If neither of us cares, then it's not time-killing, but a waste of time.'

'I agree.'

And with that Hermione went back to her dormitory and Riddle resumed his reading.

_'What did I get myself into this time? I should've stayed quiet. Now I've just angered Riddle and gained nothing. I can't see a way of how he could understand me or the things I believe in. It's stupid to him. I'm the one being riddiculous here. No wonder I'm no good. I wonder if he, in some way, recognised me in the future. No, that's impossible. He hasn't seen me. He's the darkest wizard in British history and here I am, arguing with him, trying to make him see my point. Just how much stupider can I get?'_

She knew from experience, that not everything was what it seemed to be. For example, if she didn't know better, she would've thought that Snape's on the bad side, just like probably everyone else thought. He wasn't exactly the nicest person, but he wasn't bad. It was hard to accept at the beginning, that the truth could be so much different than what seemed to be true, but eventually it ceased to surprise her. She was one hell of an example, although not the one as drastic, but she wasn't who she appeared to be. Well, at least not to the end. There was more to her than a lot of people thought, especially Ron and Harry.

_'Yeah, Ron and Harry. The ones that stood behind me and supported me. In their own strange way, but they always cared about me. And I didn't even tell them the whole truth. Would they understand? Would they forgive me? What would they say? One day, when I tell them, I'll find out. I hope that day comes.'_

She was again laying down on her bed in Slytherin girls' dormitory, all the enchantements in place. She just stared up, not looking at anything in particular.

_'Was Riddle right? Won't I make any friends here? What about Hagrid? He seemed so nice to me. I know that at the beginning he didn't like me, but in the end he talked with me, didn't he? What if his housemates aren't happy about it? What if they tell him to never see me again? Would he listen to them? He's the only one in here that I have. He's the only one I could talk to, except Dumbledore. Would he turn against me if they asked him to? Well, maybe not turn against me, but nevet talk to me again. I wonder what he thought when he saw me in the future. He must've recognised me. Probably Dumbledore'd told him about the whole thing, for him not to do any stupid things when I come to Hogwarts and know nothing of my future time-travelling. What did he think back then?'_

With those thoughts she fell asleep again. Her memories yet again became her dreams.

* * *

_'Hermione! Good to see you again!'_

_'You too, Bill,' Hermione smiled slightly as she hugged the highest of the Weasley family._

_'How are you doing? My, my, didn't you grow up,' Bill looked her up and down._

_'Well... I dunno. And you?'_

_'How can you not know? It's strange for normal people, but for you it's just impossible!' he mocked._

_'Aren't you funny? It's just... Everything happens so slow yet so fast... I don't wanna look back, but I don't wanna think 'bout the future either. I'm just hanging on today. It's a horrible feeling. I like being able to do something, but I can't do a single thing except cleaning the house. I think it's called "uselessness".'_

_'You're exagerating. I know it's hard for you not to do anything and just watch how days pass by, but you really can't help it. It's not called "uselessness", it's called "being human".'_

_'But I'm a witch. I should be able to do more than sit around waiting until it all gets right again.'_

_'I know what you mean. If it cheers you up, I can't do a damn thing either. Well, from time to time someone needs information, but there's no action. We're hanging on a brink of an open war. No one dares to make that final step, but if we don't do something soon, someone'll push us. In this case, it's hard to decide whether it's better to wait for someone to push us into it or jump in ourselves. Either way we don't know what awaits us down there, so neither of the solutions seems good enough. People wait, hoping to find some bridge or something like that, so we probably won't know until someone pushes us. But, as the matters are now, it seems it won't take long.'_

_'I think so too. People prefer to believe they are safe until someone comes, burns their houses and kills their families. They won't take the risk of starting a war, they'll only participate if they're forced to.'_

_'I'm wondering... I've heard you're taking special lessons since the begging of your Hogwarts carriere. How are they like?'_

_'I have teachers that are masters in their own fields. They teach me everything they know, step by step. I wonder if they actually think I might be useful in the future.'_

_'Dumbledore surely must, otherwise he wouldn't have made you have those extra lessons. You've already been of much help, but I think he has something special in store for you. I've heard about wizards or witches with special abilities, but they were usually kept secret from the wizarding society, so we don't know much about them. I've only heard that they were powerfull and even the wizarding world wouldn't feel safe knowing they existed.'_

_'You think I'm one of them? I've head that wizards or witches from pure-blooded families had some special abilities, weaker or stronger, but they are only myths, no one ever confirmed they were true. Maybe Dumbledore thought I learn fast enough that he could make me do some extra lessons and I'd be more of help in the future. Maybe I'm not the only one that has those lessons.'_

_'I don't know. Only few of the Order know about it, but Dumbledore told us only that. It was me, Lupin, Tonks, Sirius, Severus and dad. I can't be sure about all the others, but I've been told only that you have such lessons.'_

_'Interesting. I'm wondering exactly how many things of great significance I let pass me by, not even considering them to have any meaning. I didn't want to be paranoic, but now, that I come to think of it, it might've been useful. I'm a total fool!'_

_

* * *

_Hermione woke up with the last sentence ringing in her ears. She truly had been a fool. She should've been gathering information on Riddle while she could, not arguing with him. There would come a day when she wouldn't wake up, because she knew bloody well that those enchantements around her bed were no obstacle for Riddle.

Just then a realisation hit her. She could still hear some noise, but it wasn't any remnant of her dream. She looked around. It was still dark, but she could see everything very well. She had a night vision almost as clear as she saw in the daylight. She looked around, but all of her dormmates were still sleeping, and the sound didn't come from her dormitory. It came form the Common Room. She tried to concentrate, so she'd know what those sounds were.

There were voices. Two male voices, to be exact. They were talking. Hermione tried to concentrate a bit more, and with liitle effort she knew what they were talking about.

'Why don't we kill her right now? I know she put the enchantements around her bed, but it's not a problem for you, right?' she heard Malfoy's voice. There was no doubt who he was talking about, but strangely she felt more angry than frightened.

'It is not a problem indeed. But I don't need any unwanted attention right now. I have plans that I want to realise and I do not wish to be disturbed, especially not by a little Mudblood. If she's such a bother to you that you can't stand her, and I understand you perfectly, if I had any less self-control, she would've been dead by now, then challenge her or something, I don't care. Once I've done what I need to do, I might take care of her, and I probably will, but until then I need to focus on my own plans. _Understood?_' Riddle replied, sending chills down Hermione's spine; he said it in such tone, it made her want to obey him if he told her to do something. She shook out of it, it must've been the consequences of time-travelling.

But what worried her even more was something a lot different. Common Room was only a room away from her dormitory, so it wasn't a great distance, but the walls were thick. Someone could hear noices coming from the Common Room if they were in the dormitory, but there was no chance they'd hear a conversation, especially not as clearly as she had. And the night vision.

_'WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?'_

_**A/N That's it for today. Thank you for reading =] If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I think the next update won't take as much time, because I already have ideas that I'd like to write as soon as I can. There aren't many revelations in here, but the next chapter will have more of them, so be ready ;] I hope you liked this chapter, please, leave a comment, any suggestions what I should improve are welcomed, as, of course, are praises ;]**  
_


	6. Powerful?

_**A/N:**__** Here is the next chapter of my story, in case you hadn't guessed ;] I could've made it longer, but I was ill and it's late, and I should be doing a lot of things other than uploading this story, but I couldn't help myself. So I hope that you like this one, too. Please, read and then review! =]**_

_**Disclaimer: I reckon no one here thinks I own Harry Potter, but I'll say it anyway, just for the sake of my conscience: I DO NOT own Harry Potter in any way. I only made up the plot for this story, but it's called fanfiction, after all, isn't it?  
**_

Hermione woke up few hours later to find that the sun had already risen, but all of her dormmates were still asleep. She removed the enchantements from around her bed and headed for the bathroom to take shower. She felt as though she's been there since a long time, but when she though about it, it was only Tuesday and she arrived on Sunday afternoon. So many things had already happened. Would she be able to continue living here without causing too much problems? She doubted that. She'd already had Riddle wanting to kill her as soon as he was finished with his plans. Riddle was in his sixth year, which meant that this year Moaning Myrtle would die and Hagrid would be expelled for something he didn't do...

Hermione wanted so much to do something. To stop Riddle, to destroy the diary, to protect Hagrid, to rescue Myrtle, to kill Basilisk... But she knew she couldn't do any of those things. She couldn't change the future that much. Besides, would it really bring any good? She couldn't be sure Harry's parents wouldn't die. Maybe there would come another dark wizard or something different would happen. To Neville's parents and Cedric, too. In her second year, the diary caused problems,but in the end no one died and it was destroyed. Myrtle wouldn't be much more happy if she lived, probably she'd commit suicide or just never stop whining until the end of her miserable life and she'd come back as a ghost either way. Hagrid's become a gamekeeper and he was happy with that. Who knows what would happen to him if he finished Hogwarts. Basilisk didn't kill anyone in her times in the end and it got killed instead. It wasn't so simple as to only go and save the day. She needed to think about consequences of her actions more than ever before and she was going to do just that.

She dressed and came to the Great Hall for breakfast, finding it, yet again, almost empty. At Slytherin table there were only three third year girls, staring at the man opposite of them with dreamy eyes. Hermione snorted quietly. Of course, Riddle had his fanclub, didn't he?

Riddle noticed her as she got close to their table. He looked at her intently, she looked him back straight in the eyes. His eyes motioned for her to sit next to him and she did. She saw no reason why she shouldn't.

'Another day passed and you're still alive. Isn't it wonderful?' Riddle hissed quietly in her direction as she sat on his right side.

'Yes, wonderful indeed. But I have nothing to fear until you fullfil your plan, right? Because you know Malfoy's no match for me in a fight.'

Riddle narrowed his eyes. 'Overconfident, are we? Stay away from my bussiness, then maybe you'll live a little longer.'

'I'm not overconfident, I'd just had enough experience to know those things. Well, that is, unless Malfoy is better than you at acting and making people do what he wants. But I don't really think so.'

'You and your stupid sense of humor. Say what you want, it won't end nicely for you either way.'

'Don't you go with that bullshit again. I'm tired of it. You've no interest in drawing attention to your person right now, and that is understandable and wise. I know some things about your plan, but I've no intentions in revealing them, because, believe it or not, it'd do me no good. On the contrary; I'd get myself in real trouble.'

Riddle's eyes widened in surprised. He clearly didn't expect that. 'I've no idea how you found out about it, but it'll be better for you if you keep your mouth shut.'

'I've already told you it'd be dangerous if I told someone or did something about it. It'd only bring troubles to me and the ones I care about. No matter how hard it is for me to stay still, I have to do so. If I could do something, I'd have already done it, so you needn't worry about it.'

'Strange you are, indeed,' Riddle sent her one last glance and went back to eating, as did Hermione.

'Just something to make my mood better,' Hermione muttered and Riddle looked in the direction she was looking.

True enough, Layna and two of her friends, that is, the rest of the Slytherin girls, came strolling into the Great Hall. Layna froze when she saw Riddle and his lovely companion.

'Hadn't you gotten tired of her already?' she asked incredulously.

'As you can see,' Riddle answered.

'So, what do you say about our last talk?' Hermione winked at her.

'Urghh, you're disgusting! How dare you!'

'Oh, and you're wondering why Riddle prefers my company over yours. I'm much more open-minded than you are. Better think about it, sweetie,' Hermione said in a sweet voice.

'I... I... Is that true, Tom?' she asked disbelievingly.

'Rushoff has her point, you know. She knows how to make things interesting,' he smirked.

'Then... then I'll see you in the evening, in our Common Room!' And with that she left the Great Hall, her friends following her after only a moment of hesitation.

'Better eat something or you're not gonna be of any use tonight!' Hermione called after her.

'Seems like an interesting evening we're gonna have,' Riddle smirked at Hermione.

'Oh, I dunno, if she just keeps skipping meals she's gonna faint or something. I'm not gonna say anything about her brain needing some vitamins, because she clearly doesn't have it, but we don't need it, do we?' she mock-batted her eyelashes at him.

'Very right you are,' he sent her a charming grin.

With that, they left the Great Hall, too, and headed for their first lesson. They walked in silence, so Hermione had time to think about some things. For example, about their strange relationship. She was sure he'd kill her when he could, but there were times, like those during the meals, when she thought just what she is to him. Did he see her as a danger? She didn't think so. He thought too highly of himself to accept a possibility of a Mudblood outdoing him when he made an effort. But on the other hand, he wasn't stupid. She knew too much of his plans for her own good, but couldn't do anything about it. She told him so, but couldn't be sure whether he believed it or not. She came to a conclusion that he was just going to keep an eye on her, in case she changed her mind, and then he'd kill her. But he didn't want too much attention on him now, so he wouldn't do that unless he really thought it necessary. And probably she amused him with her irony and sarcasm and she did as a time-killer for him, after all.

She took a deep breath when they reached their destination and she realized they had Transfiguration with professor Dumbledore now. How would he react to her strange relationship with Riddle? He had no real reason to trust her the way he did and here she was, fraternizing with the enemy, as Ron would've said it.

Riddle must've noticed her reaction, for he looked at her questioningly. She just looked back at him and he didn't say anything, just stood there, waiting for her to enter the classroom, which she did, followed by him. What strange kind of understanding they had at times.

'Good moring, professor,' they greeted Dumbledore in unison.

'Good morning,' he replied. 'Hermione, how are you doing?'

'Not bad, professor. Thank you very much for your help. I have no idea what I would do was it not for your generousity,' she replied, bowing her head slightly.

'Oh, that's nothing, you're welcome, my dear. I hope I'll be able to help you more. I have some news that might be helpful, but you're the one who should judge their importance. Please, meet me after your classes. I will be waiting in my office.'

'Of course, professor. Thank you again.'

Hermione noticed Riddle wasn't too happy to see her chatting with Dumbledore, but she decided she'd ignore it. They took their places. Even though the class was almost empty, they still sat together. Transfiguration was one of the subjects most of the students who passed their OWLs continued, as well as Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions and Herbology. Hermione and Riddle took up the same classes, that is, all of the ones mentioned before, plus Arithmancy, Astronomy, Ancient Runes and History of Magic.

'So you're at good terms with the old fool?' Riddle sneered quietly.

'You hate him because he sees staright through you and your gentle facade. I reckon that makes him a rather wise man, don't you think?'

'You can say that, but it's just because he's too nosy, doesn't have better things to do and hates Slytherins in general.'

'I wouldn't go that far. I'm a Slytherin and I don't get a feeling like he hates me. I don't think he's nosy, he just keeps an eye on his students, and it is for their own good, isn't it? Well, it's not like you don't plan on killing innocent Muggleborns, or Mudbloods, as you call us. Besides, even most of the people from the other houses seem to like you better than any other Slytherin. Charming, aren't you?'

'When I need to be,' he smirked at her. 'If Mudbloods just gave up and admitted their place, it would be easier and almost bloodless.'

'I'd concentrate on that "almost". Besides, you're telling that to a Mudblood. Interesting.'

'You know about my plan anyway, so why bother pretending it doesn't exist?'

'Right. Maybe I won't be the one killed. Not first, anyway. It's not like you'd choose a particular Mudblood, is it? If you wanted to have me killed, you would've finished me off yourself, I think.'

'You're right in both cases. It amuses me how you talk about that in such a manner, like you don't care.'

'It's not that I don't care. But I know my options, so why bother pretending I have a brilliant future ahead of me?'

'Good atitude. Deluding yourself is never going to help you in anything. This way, at least, you know what to expect and you won't be surprised. You can even think about your predicament and what to do.'

'You mean, if I had a fortune, I could write a testament in the meantime?'

'Good morning to all of you!' Dumbledore greeted his pupils.

'Good morning, professor!' they all replied.

And so the lesson went on. Again, Hermione and Riddle were the ones who stood out as brilliant students. They seemed to be an even match. The other lessons were no exeption.

After the last lesson Hermione headed for Dumbledore's office. However, before she could go too far, someone called her and she stopped.

'Rushoff!' she heard Riddle call her as he came up to her. 'You really believe what that old fool tells you?'

'I've no reason not to believe him.' _'If something, it should be the other way round,'_ but she kept that thought to herself. 'And all to believe. So why shouldn't I?'

'After all, you're really stupid. You dissapointed me. I hoped for a wiser prey.'

'You can hope for whatever you want and you won't change my decission by your play. You're a bit afraid, aren't you? That I might know too much and could do something about it if I wanted to.'

'Afraid? Don't delude yourself. That'll be just one more painful lesson for you to learn in the end.'

'So why do you care? You like causing pain, especially to the ones like me.'

'Well, then. So be it. You chose your own path and it'll be a painful one, Mudblood. Be ready, time will come for you.'

'Yeah, sure, see ya!' she waved him off as she went off to Dumbledore's office, knowing she angered him by dismissing him.

* * *

'Come in!' Hermione heard Dumbledore say through the closed door to his office, after she knocked on them.

She opened the door and closed it behind her. 'You wanted to talk with me, professor?'

'Yes, I have some informations. But firstly, wait a moment.'

Dumbledore waved his wand and Hermione felt a jolt of magic go through her.

'Some enchantements, so that no one will overhear us,' he explained. 'Please, sit down.'

She sat down in the same chair in which she sat when she arrived here, waiting for Dumbledore to tell her what he found out. He sat in the chair in front of her.

'I checked for Muggles called Grangers in this era,' he started. 'There are people with that name living near London. All of them Muggles. Not a trace of someone magical in their family or even environment. They're probably your ancestors of some kind. And I did a little research on house-elves' magic. It's a complicated thing, their magic is different than ours, but I have a few house-elf friends, so they kindly answered some of my questions.

They have to obey their master, of course. They mostly like their job, couldn't live without their families, even if they were cruel to them, because house-elves tend to go crazy if they don't have a master they can serve. There are some exeptions, as there always are, but it doesn't really matter in our case, I think. The point is, I recon that it was mostly house-elves' magic that is the reason you were sent here. Of course, the spell the wizard cast was part of the reason, too, but it had only a strenghthening function. The former's magic was the one that had given a direction to what happened later.

If house-elves aren't psychically stable, their magic can slip out of their master's control and, seeing how powerful and unknown it is, it is very dangerous. If strenghthened by something, in this case by a wizard's spell, they can even throw you back in time. There were cases like that, but it wasn't really dangerous, because there weren't many of them, and the victims usually landed in the same year and when they went to sleep, they found themselves back in their proper time. You landed many years in past, and that case is unheard of. Something else must have strenghthened the magic that was bound together with the spell. Something other than the house-elf and wizard. It must have been you.'

Hermione's eyes widened and her jaw dropped a little. 'M-Me? How?'

'I'm not so sure myself. The only way to find out is to, so to speak, study you. Have you noticed something strange since your arrival here? Or anything strange about you back in your times?'

'Well, when I was in my first year, you told me to have extra lessons. I learned Occlumency, Legilimency, Telepathy, very strong spells and curses, wandless and silent magic and things like that, thanks to you. About the old times...' Hermione told him the story of her brother and the feeling she got before he died. Then she told him about Cedric, only without giving any details, just that a close friend of hers died in a contest and she had gotten the same feeling before said contest.

'Hmmm... Interesting. It seems you have a gift of empathy. It is not quite the same thing as it is in a human meaning, as you might have guessed. It is a very rare gift, and rarely spoken of. No one ever found out how exactly it works, but it is some kind of a magical connection that is created between a wizard or witch and the ones they are close to. If you don't practise it, all you will be able to do will be feeling things you did before death comes upon them. But if you work on it, you might be able to sense their presence in what appears to be a sixth sense. We will talk about that matter on a different occasion, because now we have more serious problems we need to deal with. What about strange things happening since your arrival here?'

'The first thing I noticed was my different appearance. At first I thought I was just imagining things, given the stress and time-travelling, but then I realized it wasn't that. It's not that I changed much, but I wasn't this... sparkling, I guess. And last night, I woke up when it was still dark, but I could see everything almost as well as I can see in the daylight. Then I realized I can hear someone talking in the Common Room. All I needed to do was to concentrate a little and I heard every word those persons said, as clearly as I hear you now, and it was through a thick, dungeon's wall. And right now I can hear your every breath and heartbeat. I don't think it's normal. And I've never heard that before, never have been that sensitive to those things before.'

Dumbledore looked very pensive. 'Time-traveling magic, like the one you experienced, has a tendency to wash all the concealing magic put upon someone. Why someone would do that, though, I have no idea. Nor do I know how you are able to do things like that. It is too powerful for a witch, especially as young as you are. I will do research on that subject, for I do not wish to give you false information.

This would be it for today. Thank you for coming and telling me all of this. I will let you know as soon as I find something out. For now, just be careful.'

'I will. Thank you very much, professor. Good bye!'

'Good bye!'

* * *

It was a lunch time, but Hermione wasn't particularly hungry, so she went straight to her Common Room. She hoped to find it empty at this time of the day, but she found Riddle sitting on the couch, reading a book, just like the night before. And, just like the night before, his eyes moved from the book to her.

'So you've finished your little chat with our magnificent teacher,' he said in a mocking voice.

'Yes. And what a nice, little chat it was! We ate Muggle cookies, sipped hot chocolate and talked about the old times, laughing all the while!' she replied in the same tone.

'Nice indeed. So why don't we have a chat like that right now? I'd like to relax, too.'

'Divine! I'll go get the cookies and you make some chocolate, okay?' she sneered.

'Yes, and maybe we'll jump into our pyjamas and have a sleep-over!' he continued.

'Unfortunately, we can't, seeing as, thanks to you, we already have plans for tonight,' she played along.

'Oh, that's right, a night of threesomes, isn't it? Then we'll have to be satisfied only by cookies, hot chocolate and our little chat.'

'It's already a nice chat, so why won't we leave it at that?'

'Because I want cookies and hot chocolate, too.'

'Sweets are not good for your teeth, and what will you do without that brilliant smile of yours?'

'I'll wash my teeth right afterwards, I promise.'

'But I've had my share of sweets for today. My teeth might not take it quite as well as yours.'

'What will you need your teeth for if you don't delude yourself with visions of your brilliant future?'

'And this would be it for our nice little talk,' Hermione sighed dramatically.

'It's your fault. You didn't get cookies.'

'And you didn't prepare hot chocolate, so we're even, and we can repair that damage.'

In that moment she heard voices from behind the wall and she knew that soon the Common Room would be full of students returning from lunch.

'Or we can't,' Riddle realized the very same thing, just a few moments later.

'Too bad. Maybe the next time. We could do that sleep-over.'

'You bet. We'll arrange it some other time.'

'Can't wait,' Hermione feigned excitement.

Just then everyone came back and Hermione slipped out of the Common Room as quietly as she could, not wanting to be noticed by her housemates, and headed for her usual spot at the lake. She sighed with relief as she saw it was empty. She could think.

She found out a lot this afternoon. A lot, but still not enough. What does it mean that she was powerful? Powerful in what way? How could she have something to do with her time-travelling? And what did Tom want from her? Because he surely didn't want to have a nice, little chat with cookies and hot chocolate. She teased him, and he teased back, it seemed unlike him, but she couldn't mind it, as it spared her anything he wanted to tell her. That teasing... Sometimes it was almost fun to be around him. He was smart and sarcastic. If only he wasn't the future Dark Lord...

Time was passing by and she hadn't done her homework yet. She knew she needed to go back to the castle, back to that Common Room. She only hoped she could sneak out of there quickly, she could go to the library then. There wouldn't be anyone who liked her, but it was a neutral ground, unlike Slytherin Common Room. And she wondered whether Layna took the whole thing seriously. If she did, it was going to be an even more interesting night. Of course it wouldn't end the way the blondie surely thought it would, but Hermione'd make fun of her and piss her off, and she knew Riddle would do so, as well. She smiled at that thought. It would make her mood better.

With those thoughts she headed back to the castle.

_**A/N: As always, reviews are more than welcomed. Please, do it for me, it's not that hard, and it'll help me get better (I told you I was ill). And yes, I am playing on the kindness of your hearts, but please, forgive me, the poor author of a poorly written fanfiction, who stayed up late at night to upload the next chapter of the story, so you wouldn't be dissapointed by the lack of uploading (you can still be dissapointed by the story itself). I'll quit on rambling and add just one more thing: if you have any doubts, feel free to ask.**_


	7. The Chamber of Secrets

_**A/N:**__** I hoped I could upload sooner, but I didn't like anything I wrote, so I just rewrote it again and again. I'm still not really sure about this one, but I decided I wouldn't make the readers wait that long, and it's better than before. Please, ease my uncertainty and tell me what do you think about it. Any suggestions?**_

Hermione was glad she had her books with her, because she didn't have to return to the dormitory to get them, she just headed straight for the library. She took out her books, parchment, quill and ink and started her homework. Just then she felt as though nothing had changed and she was still in her times. This felt familiar. She even thought about sleeping in the library, but she knew she couldn't afford that. But she could enjoy it while it lasted.

She sighed as she signed the last parchement with her name. Now she had to go back. Library would be closing soon enough anyway. She gathered all her belongings and headed for her Common Room. Although she didn't feel comfortable calling it "hers", she's never felt like she belonged there.

It was late, so she expected the Common Room to be empty, or at least not very crouded, but she knew she'd find Riddle there. And that was more than enough for her. He wanted to talk with her the last time she saw him. She doubted he'd forgotten about that.

True enough, Riddle was sitting there, but not alone. Layna was sitting right at his left side, clinging to him. It was a miracle that Riddle managed to keep her out of his lap. But if he wanted her out, he'd have her out. Nevertheless, he looked almost relieved when Hermione came.

'What took you so long? Got scared you're not as good as me?' she sneered.

'Oh, not at all, just thought you might use a little stretching before, so that you'd have a chance to make any impression,' Hermione sneered back.

Riddle's smirk appeared again. 'Girls, be nice, don't fight.'

'For you, Tom, everything,' Layna looked at him as though he was a god of some kind.

'Oh my, guess you're gonna win in sucking up in the end,' Hermione rolled her eyes.

'See? You could learn from me!' Layna raised her eyebrows and looked down at Hermione.

'Of course, what would I do without your blessed light? Guide me, the wisest!'

Suddenly, they heard someone come out of the boys' dormitory to the Common Room. They turned around to see two boys standing just outside of the dormitory. Hermione recognised them to be Orion and Cygnus Blacks, third years. They weren't brothers, but they were of the same bloodline, cousins of some kind. They had that Slytherin air around them. They barely registered her, apparently thinking her not to be worthy of their attention, what she was grateful for, because she wasn't in the mood to deal with some kids. However, they looked at Riddle with respect and fear, not daring to look him straight in the eye, bowing their heads slightly, their position clearly submissive to the future Dark Lord. But when they saw Layna, they lost their composure, at last being true to their age. Their cheeks coloured slowly and they quickly averted their gaze from her, trying to look cool.

'Something happened?' Riddle asked in a neutral voice.

'No, nothing, we didn't want to interrupt, but we're looking for Cayden. Lately, he was behaving strange.'

Riddle considered this seriously, Hermione noted. At last, he said, 'He probably had his reasons. Respect his will and do not look for him. If I find it necessary, I will look for him myself. Understood?'

'Yes,' the boys answered. Though seemingly not content with Riddle's desicion, they didn't dare question it.

'Layna, go back to your dormitory.'

'But Tom-' she started protesting, but he rose a hand and cut her off.

'I think it's not quite safe tonight. Respect my will,' he looked at her pointedly and she didn't dare protest again, she just left the room.

Riddle shifted his gaze to Hermione. She stared right back at him.

'Good night,' Hermione told Riddle, deciding that saying something like 'We can go to sleep now, right?' would sound too much like she was asking him for permission.

She turned in the direction of the girls' dormitory, but Riddle said, 'You know about the Chamber of Secrets, don't you?'

Hermione was taken aback by that. Surely, he didn't say that just for the sake of a chit-chat, he had to have a reason, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find it out.

'After founding Hogwarts and starting magical education, there started to appear differences between the founders. Each of them valued different traits, but they all managed to work together very well. But then, Slytherin decided that Muggles didn't deserve to be taught magic, and he argued with Gryffindor over that. Apparently, Gryffindor had won, because Slytherin left the school. But supposedly, before leaving for good, he'd created a secret chamber, in which he'd hidden a monster so that his discendant in the future could open it, release the monster and finish the noble work that Slytherin had started, that is, to get rid of the Muggle-borns. Many wizards had tried to find this chamber, but no one succeeded, so they started to believe that this is only a fiction and Salazar Slytherin hadn't built any chamber, nor had he hidden any monster within it,' she replied in a monotone voice, specially making it sound like a boring definition.

'Don't play with me,' Riddle warned her, his eyes glistening dangerously, reminding her that she was talking to a man who in the close future would kill his own father and create a Horcrux. 'I'm sure you know more than that, but do as you wish. That's not what I wanted to talk about. Did you know that your precious Albus Dumbledore had been looking for it in his Hogwarts' times?'

She didn't know it. Deciding it wouldn't be good to sound like a blind Dumbledore-lover, she replied, 'Many wizards and witches did. For example, you do.'

'Yes, I do,' he replied, not sounding surprised. He must've figured out she'd know that much. 'But did you know that he actually located the entrance?' he raised his brow, smirking slightly.

'No, I've never heard that before,' she replied honestly, shocked, but not wanting to give him the advantage by remaining silent. 'And how come you know it?'

'My aquaintance in Durmstrang, whose parents are close, if you can call it like that, to Grindelwald, told me he eavesdropped on a conversation between them. Well, he didn't really eavesdrop, since they left the door open, but they were sure the information would not get to their enemy's ears. Anyway, Grindelwald said he and Dumbledore, as well as many other things, were searching for the Chamber. Grindelwald himself could only take care of the theoretical part, since he didn't attend Hogwarts, but they kept in constant contact. He said Dumbledore had told him that he thought he found it. He recognized the place by the Slytherin sign on it, and all the story he managed to put together fit. The only problem was how to get inside. They tried everything, but nothing worked. Dumbledore's student years at Hogwarts ended, and so did their tries. Who knows, maybe Dumbledore's still trying to open it?'

'Whatever, Riddle, the Chamber can be opened only by the true Slytherin's heir, and Dumbledore surely isn't one. Even if he was his son, he couldn't open it, since he's been Gryffindor and thus, in the eyes of Slytherin, not worthy of opening it. He must've known it from the very beginning, but he tried nevertheless. Well, he was young. Now, he's much older, and knows from experience that this won't work. The end of story.'

'You really think this is the end of it? And what if he's waiting for a true Slytherin heir to come and open it?'

'You know it's a total lie. He could never tame the beast that's inside the Chamber, so it would bring him no gain, no matter what his purpose would be. A thing that interests me more is why do tell me all of that?'

'I simply enjoy making Dumbledore-lovers doubt him, especially making YOU doubt would be enjoyable.'

'I have to dissapoint you, I don't doubt him. I'm not his blind follower, I follow him for reasons that you'd never understand and it's not simply faith, it's also experience. And I don't think he's saint; I know he's not, I just leave the past for itself and decide about present myself. Nice try, but only a waste of time.'

'I don't think so. We'll see soon,' Riddle's smirk was too convincing to be only bluffing, but on the other hand, he was a magnificent actor. Hermione decided she didn't want to think about it just then.

'Then we'll have to wait. Right now, I'm going to sleep.'

Riddle didn't stop her or didn't say anything at all, so she just went straight for the dormitory and her bed. Many things could be said about it, but it surely was comfortable, and that was what she needed.

* * *

Once in her dormitory, she ignored her dormmates, shutting out their voices from her mind. She just wanted to sleep, even her strange dreams were better than facing the reality.

* * *

She woke up in the middle of the night, again. She groaned quietly and streched. Then she stilled suddenly. She heard some rustles from the Common Room. She was sure it was impossible to hear such quiet rustles, but she already knew her senses had sharpened a lot. She rubbed her eyes, closing and then opening them again, seeing, once again, almost as well as during the daytime. She stopped moving, focusing on those noises.

'Are we going to search again? We've searched many times and we found nothing!' she heard Abraxas Malfoy complain quietly.

'Quiet, Malfoy!' Uh huh, Riddle, of course. 'No, we're not going to search for it.'

'Then what we are going to do?' Again, Malfoy.

'Don't ask questions! You'll see soon,' Riddle hissed.

'_Where is this damn Chamber?_' Riddle hissed quietly again, this time in Parseltongue.

'_Here, come here, the descendant of the noble Salazar Slytherin!_'

Hermione froze, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She wished it would slow down, so that she could hear better, but still, she was shocked. It was THAT voice. She knew it. It was the very same voice that she'd heard in her second year, along with Harry. _The Basilisk_. She wondered whether Riddle had heard it too, but she soon discovered that he hadn't, for he was just as angry for being clueless as always. It must've been her extraordinary hearing.

'Did you find it, then?' an unfamiliar voice asked.

'I said, DO NOT ASK QUESTIONS,' Riddle pressed, and that was Hermione's clue that he indeed hadn't heard the voice.

They left the Common Room and she didn't know whether to follow them or not. She decided it'd be the best for her not to meddle with such things. It'd only bring her trouble, and she already knew what Riddle was up to. But she had another matters to worry about.

Could she actually open the Chamber of Secrets? She spoke Parseltongue, didn't she? It hadn't occured to her back in her second year, because she was a Gryffindor. Now, however, she was a Slytherin. Would that make her worthy enough of opening the Chamber? The only way to find out would be to try. She couldn't risk it, though. Riddle might find out and that would be the worst thing. She knew he'd find it anyway, she just didn't want to speed it up. Besides, what could she do once she opened the Chamber? She couldn't possibly destroy the monster, it'd change the future too much.

_'Urgh! I think too much. I shouldn't involve myself in anything here, and just wait patiently until Dumbledore finds out how to send me back to my time. Changing the future won't do me any good. I could only cause more troubles.'_

She repeated that over and over in her head until she fell asleep.

* * *

_'Hermione... Are you sure you don't have any magical family?'_

_'What do you mean, Sirius? You know very well I don't. I'm not called "Mudblood" for nothing.'_

_'Don't say that word!' Sirius frowned at her._

_'Okay, okay. It's just that the question's strange. Why did you ask?'_

_'Because you have traits that make me think, and not only me, that you have magic in your blood from generations, not that it happens to be only you. I'm not talking about your intelligence, but as a Black, I know a few things about that.'_

_'What kind of traits? I don't understand,' Hermione looked clearly puzzled._

_Sirius looked thoughtful for a while, his eyebrows furrowed. At last, he shook his head and said, 'I'm thinking too much into things. Moving back into this house gives me the creeps and a pureblood mania. Don't pay attention to that. Few more weeks and I'll be my old self.'_

_

* * *

_Hermione was the first one from her dormitory to wake up after the sunrise. She performed her usualy morning rutines, and after the shower, she looked in the mirror. She'd swear she hadn't looked like that before she came here. Her sparkling eyes stared back at her, making her think just how different she was here. Like a different person. Was that even possible? It was a wizarding world, but even there were things that went beyond imagination, and this was one of them. At least for Hermione.

She went down for breakfast. She hoped Riddle wouldn't be there. She even cosidered waiting and going there later, but she decided she'd rather face him than all of her housemates at once, so she just took a deep breath and entered the Great Hall. As expected, he was there. He looked at her, their gazes meeting, and she didn't know how, she just knew he wanted her to sit next to him, and she did, surprising herself. Why did she do that? She brushed it off as a mere tiredness and lack of sleep, her legs carrying her without her really meaning to go anywhere.

Before she realized, she was sitting next to Riddle and placing food on her plate. She felt him looking at her, but he didn't say anything, so she just continued doing what she was doing, without paying any attention to him.

_'Come here, the worthy one, don't make me wait any more.'_

Hermione jumped up, hearing that voice, her breathing speeding up again. She'd never thought she'd hear that voice so soon, and in the Great Hall to that. She looked at Riddle, but he just observed her intently, so she reckoned he hadn't heard that one either. But it was bad that she let him know that something was wrong. He was already paying too much attention to her, he waited for her to do something that would help him, and she didn't want to help him. She moved her gaze to her plate and went back to eating, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She needed to get used to that voice and learn to ignore it, as though she's never heard it.

'Rushoff, are you alright?' Riddle asked, looking concerned, but she knew better than that. This was an act, he just wanted to know what was going on.

'Just lack of sleep makes me jumpy, nothing to worry about, but thanks for caring,' she replied sweetly and he cringed at her tone, a bit angered by her ability to read him.

But when Riddle cringed slightly for the second time, Hermione frowned, looking for the cause of it, and she didn't have to search for it for long. Layna had just entered the Great Hall, her friends at her sides.

'Good morning, Tom! Hope you had a pleasant night,' she crooned.

'Good morning, Layna! Yes, the weather was indeed nice,' Riddle sent her a smile.

Hermione snickered. What a wise thing to say! He was making fun of the blonde, but she wasn't clever enough to figure it out, thinking he was being nice to her.

'Oh yeah, you know, one of those nights when it just tempts you to stay out of bed bed,' she replied, smiling flirtaciously at Riddle.

'Yeah, a bed's not really necessary for THAT, right?' Hermione muttered, loud enough for Layna to hear.

'I'll talk with you when you get rid of this stupid little whore!' Layna told Riddle, turning her nose up and walking to a far away part of the table.

This time, both Hermione and Riddle groaned.

'I can't believe someone could be this stupid,' Hermione muttered.

'Well, you have proof right in front of your eyes,' Riddle muttered back.

Hermione looked straight at him and he stilled, rising his eyes to meet hers.

'Moment of truth, Riddle. What was that all Chamber-talk about?'

His face was again a mask, his eyes not showing a thing. 'I think it is time for you to realize what a fool Dumbledore is. And not a nice one, to that.'

'I've already noticed what you think of him, thank you very much. But why do you bother? I'm a Mudblood, it shouldn't make a difference to you whether I follow Dumbledore or nor, you'd kill me anyway.'

'Well, this is arguable.'

Hermione looked at Riddle, shocked. He was perfectly composed, so she could never guess what he was thinking about. But she could always try asking. 'What do you mean by that?'

'Are you really a Mudblood as you claim to be? I've checked. There are no Rushoffs with a daughter named Hermione. There almost aren't any Rushoffs at all. What a stupid surname, by the way.'

Hermione mentally cursed herself. She had no idea why Dumbledore came up with that particular surname - it DID sound stupid - but he could've - should've - thought of something more common for a Muggle, so that it'd be harder for Riddle to find. But she put up a facade and countered, 'Why should I introduce myself as a Muggleborn, especially when I knew there was a chance that I could be sorted Slytherin? To make my stay here a living hell? Thanks, but no thanks.'

'True enough, but that doesn't change the fact that you're not who you claim to be. That's not your real surname and you didn't even deny it. I know that doesn't mean you're not a Mudblood, but until I find out, I won't ignore the source of information that you could be. Instead of making you tell me everything I'd like to know, we could cooperate, at least until I find out who you truly are.'

'And that offert's supposed to encourage me to help you? That you'd use me until you find out that you could kill me in the end? Again, thanks, but no thanks. I'd prefer to stay neutral.'

'Neutral?' Riddle raised an elegant eyebrow, but aside that, his expression didn't change. 'Aren't you Dumbledore's puppy?'

Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously and Riddle showed bewilderment for a mere second, before placing back his careful facade.

'I'm nobody's puppy. I do what I believe is the right thing to do. And I AM neutral, I'm not helping Dumbledore in anything. If something, it's the other way round. Watch your mouth, I could cause you some trouble before you kill me,' she warned.

'Oh, spare me!' Riddle sneered.

With that, they both fell silent, walking out of the Great Hall and to the first class. The air around them was thick, but they still marched hand in hand, not acknowleding the other's presence. People got out of their way as quickly as they saw them, but they didn't pay any attention to it at all.

The competition between the two of them that day was the strongest one. Even though the teachers, by seeing them interact with each other and taking part in the lessons, understood that there'd always be something like that ocurring every class, they didn't expect it'd be this bad. Everyone felt that something was out of place. However, Hermione and Riddle didn't seem to mind it at all, not really caring about their environments.

After the lessons, they ate lunch and made way for the Common Room. The corridors were empty, the other students had already gone off to their places.

_'Come to me, the worthy one! Let me out, I want to feed again!'_

This time, Riddle had heard it as well as Hermione. They looked at each other meaningly. Hermione couldn't help panicking slightly. This wan't good, this wasn't good at all.

'You've heard it before,' Riddle's eyes narrowed, that dangerous undertone in his voice present, showing his true face of a powerful dark wizard. 'That's why you've been acting so strange, so "jumpy". You know what it is, don't you? Tell me now!'

'What?! What the bloody hell are you talking about?! Don't command me! My strange behaviour is none of your business, and I have many reasons to be jumpy, reasons, that you'd never even guess, so... Fuck off!' Hermione's nerves have been on the verge for too much time, everything was happening so fast and she just snapped, turning and marching out of the corridor, out of the castle, leaving Riddle behind, not caring what he might think or do, just wanting to have at least a little PEACE OF MIND!

But when she found herself at the lake's shore, she stopped dead. Just WHAT the bloody hell has she done?!

_**A/N:**__** I didn't know whether to continue this chapter or leave it hanging like that. As you see, I opted for the second solution. As I'd said at the beginning, I'm unsure about it, so please, tell me what do you think, do you have any suggestions?**_

_**As for the story itself, I wanted to make everything fit. I even wanted to do their timetables, but I've no idea HOW to do that, so I just left it. I know that McGonnagall was probably only a year older than Riddle, so she should be seventh year in my fic, but I don't know whether to involve her or not.**_

_**That flashback with Sirius wasn't written just so, I included it for a reason you'll find out later. As the reasons for many other things, like Hermione's ability to talk Parseltongue, or her sharp senses. And there'll be more flashbacks, because Hermione's past is, of course, very important for the story. I know I've changed her totally, maybe I shouldn't have, but you'll have a reason for that, too. So please, be patient with me.**_

_**Again, please, leave a review, your thoughts, suggestions, etc. Because I'm not sure whether to continue it or not. It's a strange story, but maybe there are people that like strange stories ;]  
**_


	8. Family legend

_**A/N:**__** Hello everyone! I'm really sorry for such a long delay, but I've had some presonal problems I had to deal with first. I'm glad I'm mostly over it. I had most of this chapter written and wanted to update it two weeks ago, but I got a call in the last minute that I was leaving for the mountains with a friend of mine and her family earlier, so I didn't have time. But now, here it is, and I know I should stop bubbling, but I needed to get it out of my system, for I got such nice reviews and I dissapointed you. Once again, sorry.**_

_**As for Beta Reader, I don't have one and I can't bring myself to look for one. I know I should, but still. If someone proposed themselves to me, than I'd have a Beta, but until that happens, I guess this story will stay un-betaed. At least for now. I was just anxious to show you this chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it :]**_

_**Disclaimer: I remind that I do not own Harry Potter in any way, only this fanfiction is an idea of mine.  
**_

Hermione just stood there, unmoving, the wind blowing less gently with each passing minute. She was facing the Black Lake, but anyone who would've looked at her closely, could've realized that she didn't see it at all. Her mind was racing too fast. She wished it would stop, but the images and thoughts just kept popping into her head, obviously not letting her forget and relax. She knew this time was worse than ever. Before, Riddle was playing with her, wanting information, but he didn't know whether she had it or not. But now it was different. She stood in the way of what he wanted, and THAT was unforgivable.

'Are you going to tell me again that you DID NOT hear the voice?' Riddle's tone was extremely calm, but that made her that much more afraid.

'I've never said I didn't. I just told you my jumpiness was none of your business,' she replied, apparently so nervous that her voice sounded void of any emotion at all.

'So you want to play those games with me again? Better think about it. I might've been merciful with you so far, but you don't want to experience my wrath, take my word for that,' he almost hissed.

'I know that better than you'd believe,' she muttered.

'If you do then why won't you stop? I bloody well know that you're not a Mudblood.'

'Do you have any proof? Besides that fake surname.' She decided she was fed up with pretending, when he obviously knew that much.

'You're forgetting something important.' His natural smirk came back.

'Yes?'

'Parseltongue. No Mudblood could ever be a Parelmouth.'

Hermione's eyes widened. WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?! She's never thought about it before. Back in her second year what interested her more than her being a Parselmouth was that Basilisk was out hurting innocent people. Here she has been more concerned with someone finding out the truth about her. It just never occured to her before. And it did to Riddle. Why?

'You haven't realized that, have you?' he sounded smug. 'But it's true and you know it. Then who are you?'

'I don't know,' Hermione replied in a dull voice.

That, on the other hand, put Riddle off a bit. 'What? How can you not know?'

She had no intention of telling him everything, but a bit wouldn't hurt, right? He already knew too much. 'You were right. That's not my real surname. And it IS stupid. But I really AM a Muggleborn. At least, that's what I've always believed. I've never given it much thought, that is, me speaking Parseltongue. But my parents are Muggles! As is all of my family! That's just impossible! There must be a way a Muggleborn can become a Parselmouth.'

'There really isn't one,' he looked thoughtful. 'I see only two explanations: either your parents aren't Muggleborns, or they are not your real parents.'

Hermione remained silent, chewing on the inside of her cheek lightly. What Riddle told her made sense, but only theoretically. She couldn't believe that her parents could've deceived her for so long. They knew she loved them and if she was adopted, they could tell her.

'Maybe you'll take on my offer. You're talented, I'm not blind, but if you play for the opposite team, I will have no qualms in killing you.'

He gave her one pointed look and marched off. She remained there, gazing somewhere above the horizon, everything replaying in her head. She had no idea how long she has been standing there, but suddenly she felt cold wind blow and send shivers through her body.

'Here you are.'

Hermione was startled at hearing unfamiliar masculine voice, and even more so when she felt a coat being placed on her arms. She caught it instinctively and turned around to see a tall, slightly muscled guy with sandy hair, straight nose and full lips. His eyes were of a dark shade of blue, framed by quite long for a man eyelashes. What amazed her the most was that he wore Gryffindor robes, and even if he hadn't paid attention to her sorting, she still had her Slytherin ones on.

'Ummm... Thank you,' she replied uncertainly.

'A Slytherin thanking a Gryffindor?' the guy raised his eyebrows at her.

'A Gryffindor lending their coat to a Slytherin?' she countered.

'Point taken. By the way, I'm Kagen Lockwood,' he outstretched his hand to her, and she shook it. 'Seventh year.'

'Hermione Rushoff, sixth year.'

She looked at him again. He didn't seem to be your typical Gryffindor: cheerful, a bit of a show-off, always with his friends and a Slytherin-hater. Here he was, serious, quiet, alone, his cloak warm on her shoulders.

'Are you in hurry to get back?'

'Huh?' he asked, confused, apparently she'd pulled him out of his reverie.

'I don't feel like going back and it'd be cold without your cloak.'

'Oh,' his face flashed with understanding. 'Not really, you can keep it.'

'Thanks,' Hermione sent him slight smile of gratitude which he apprehensively returned. 'If you don't mind me asking... Why did you do that? You know what I mean. I'm a Slytherin, after all.'

'I don't like all those prejudices. My father was Slytherin and my mother was Ravenclaw in their Hogwarts years. Of course there is certain air around Slytherins, but they're not bad. And I've seen you stand up to Riddle. He annoys me.'

What intrigued Hermione was that his face didn't show much emotion. It wasn't like Riddle, who always wore his mask, but it didn't suit a Gryffindor, who usually wore their hearts on their sleeves and were quite emotional.

'Yeah, I know what you mean. He IS smart, I have to admit that, but he makes it into his right to look down on everyone and hurt people. He thinks that if he suffered, the others have to suffer, too.'

'Something along the lines. I need to go back, but you can keep the coat, you'll return it to me later.'

'Ok, thanks again.'

Kegan went off to the castle and Hermione was once again standing alone in the wind. But she was no longer cold.

* * *

Hermione went straight to the library and did all of her homework, not only for the next day, but also everything else for the next week. But she wasn't happy. That meant she had to go back to that bloody Common Room. She smiled absentmindedly as she felt the warm material of Kegan's coat on her back; it was stretched over the back of the chair she was sitting in. She gathered all of her belongings and the cloak and headed for the oh-so-feared place.

But suddenly something caught her attention. A book. It flashed violet and white with every flick of light. Hermione wondered how came she hadn't noticed it before. Sure, it was surrounded with other books, but it outstood and she spent a lot of time in the library. She took the book and flipped through the pages. It was empty. Not a thing inside, only empty pages. And it surely wasn't a property of the library. Then what was it doing there? Why would someone put it in such a visible place unless they wanted it to be found?

That was it! Whoever the owner of the book was, or rather a diary as it seemed, wanted it to be found. Was she supposed to be the one to take it? Did it really matter? What should she do with it? Suddenly, she remembered about Ginny and Riddle's diary. Could it be something that dangerous?

'We're closing. Miss Rushoff, please, do leave.'

The librarian knew Hermione by that time quite well. No wonder.

Hermione acted on her instinct. She was too curious to just leave the diary. Maybe it could be useful in some way? So she packed it into her bag, bid the librarian goodbye and headed for the Common Room.

* * *

Hermione ignored everyone in the Common Room, she just wanted a little peace of mind. Was that really too much to wish for? Fortunately, Riddle didn't make his appearance. Which reminded her of what he'd said earlier. She couldn't be Muggleborn. He was right. Was there any way her parents could've been wizards and didn't tell her? Or weren't they her biological parents? Now, she couldn't even ask them. She just hoped she could do that soon.

She threw herself on her bed and put curtains around it, guarding herself from the rest of the dormitory. She took out the diary and watched it from each side. It looked beautiful. It glittered with every move. She opened it again, but the insides were still empty. Should she write in it? It had worked in the case of Riddle's diary. She looked at the cover. She hadn't examined it closely before. There was a crest of phoenix at the front cover and at the back there were only two straps, one violet and one white. It was truly magnificent. At the bottom of the crest there was a neat, thin writing which read "Dumbledore". Hermione's eyes widened. What did that mean? Was it Dumbledore's diary? And what about the crest? Did his family have a crest or was it his private one? Or maybe he just bought the book somewhere, so it wasn't his invention? Hermione stifled a giggle at the thought of Dumbledore going through shops to find a diary. Now, that would be interesting.

She still didn't know what to do. Should she show it to Dumbledore or keep it to herself? What about Riddle's proposition? She didn't know how much more time she would have to spend in the past, so maybe she could do some undercover work. But on the other hand, she wasn't supposed to attract attention. She wasn't too fortunate with that, but she managed. If she joined Riddle, it could serve her badly in the future.

It was becoming darker and quieter. However, Hermione's senses were only heightening. Now, that it was quiet, she could hear her dormmates' light breaths and distant scurrying of house-elves. It was after the sunset, but she could see every detail of the bedposts. She was wondering about her new abilities, the change in her image and Riddle's words as she fell asleep.

* * *

'_Miss Granger, I trust you are having a good time at Hogwarts?' the Headmaster asked gently as he approached an eleven-year-old girl in her Gryffindor robes walking through an empty corridor, the bag on her shoulder looking rather heavy, but she seemed unfazed by it._

'_Oh, yes, very much so, sir,' the girl smiled up at him through her mane of bushy hair._

'_I see you made some friends and I have heard from your teachers that you are doing extraordinarily well. Do you enjoy your extra-classes?'_

'_Yes, I do. Although I don't really understand why I have them.'_

'_Just like I said, I would be blind not to see your potential and I want you to make your choices while fully understanding the extent of your power. If you wish to stop, you can do so freely, just make sure no one finds out about it.'_

'_Of course, sir, but I have no intentions of stopping. Thank you for giving me a chance even though I'm a Muggleborn.'_

'_My dear, you have no idea what you are saying. But nevertheless, I am glad you enjoy your time here. Should you encounter any troubles, do not hesitate to come to me.'_

'_I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, sir.'_

_

* * *

_Hermione woke up with a start. Again, she was the first one to be up, so she decided to take a shower. She definitely needed to clear her thoughts. As hot water poured down her body, although it didn't really feel like hers, she tried to clear her mind and decide only what she had to do next, step by step, so that all her thoughts wouldn't suffocate her.

She should give Dumbledore the diary. It was his property, after all. Besides, he trusted her and she didn't want to disappoint him. Maybe some part of what Riddle said was true, but she knew from experience that not everything was as it seemed. That would be the first step. She'd think about the rest later. That way she wouldn't drown in the mess of ideas and fears. She'd concentrate on what she had to do next.

That thinking led her before Dumbledore's door and she knocked.

'Come in!' She heard his reply.

She turned the knob and entered his cabinet, closing the door behind her.

'Good morning, sir,' she greeted him.

'Ah, good morning, Hermione. Take a seat. Are you all right?'

She sat down. 'Quite well, thank you, sir. I believe I have something of yours.'

Dumbledore furrowed his eyebrows, clearly he didn't expect this. Hermione took the diary out of her bag and put it onto the table. If Dumbledore had been surprised before, he was shocked by then. She hadn't seen that face of his, but really, what did she know about him?

'How did you get this? And when?' the Headmaster asked after a moment of stunned silence.

'I found it yesterday, in the library. It was between other books. I wonder how could I have missed it before, it outstood among other, leather-covered books. I know I shouldn't have taken it, but I didn't think clearly. I just had this feeling that it was out of place and that it should be taken. Then I discovered your name on it and decided to bring you this first thing in the morning.'

Dumbledore examined it intently, first the cover, then the insides. 'Thank you, Hermione, I have been looking for it for so long. I was beginning to think I wouldn't find it.'

'You have lost it?'

'No, not me. My ancestors,' Dumbledore thought hard, but at last decided something. 'My parents told me once about a family legend. There was supposed to be a diary which belonged to my ancestor and it dated back to the founders of Hogwarts. It was said to hold secrets that would shock all the wizarding world. Until now I believed it to be only a rumor, but now… It appears that the rumor was actually true.'

'What secrets would those be?' Hermione asked, honestly curious.

'I have no idea, my dear. I will work on that one. Thank you.'

'No, thank _you_, sir. Good bye, professor.'

'Good bye, my child.'

* * *

It was still early and Hermione didn't expect the Great Hall to be full. She nervously clenched her hand tighter around Kagen's coat, which she took with her when she was leaving the dormitory. She didn't plan to give it back to him during breakfast, of course, but she hoped to find an occasion soon enough.

She took a deep breath and entered the Great Hall. It was quite empty and she was glad Riddle wasn't there.

'Good morning, Rushoff.'

Well, a girl can hope. He didn't even keep the venom from coloring his voice.

'Good morning, Riddle,' she replied just as icily.

'Went for a chat to the old fool, didn't you?'

'Went spying, didn't you?' she countered.

'Don't play with me,' he warned, yet again.

'Vice versa.' She was getting tired of this.

'Why don't you-'

'Oh, you didn't have to return it so soon. It's not my only cloak.'

Hermione turned to see the sound of the deep, rich voice which interrupted Riddle in his threats. Sure enough, Kagen was standing there and offered her a slight nod when she looked at him, which she returned. Now, this was unexpected. He outwardly admitted to knowing her. In front of the whole Great Hall. Well, it wasn't all that impressing, since it was almost empty, but still.

'I guessed that much, but I have cloaks myself as well. Thanks again. I don't really like to freeze.'

His lips twitched upwards a bit. 'You're welcome. For someone who doesn't like to freeze you sure choose strange ways not to do so. Until later, then,' he waved and walked off.

'Until later,' Hermione parroted, smiling a little. Then she remembered her earlier company and turned to see Riddle glaring at her silently.

'Fraternizing with the enemy?'

Well, not so silently. Hermione snorted slightly at the memory from the Yule Ball that those words brought back.

'Funny thing how easy it is to mistake your enemy. One could say that you are my enemy.'

'Because you chose so. You don't know how to choose your allies.'

'And you happen to be just the perfect ally? Stupid me!'

'You'd like to drop that sarcasm. And yes, I would be the best ally for you.'

'And how do I know it's true?' she challenged

'And how do you know it's not?' he countered.

'Experience,' she muttered.

'Excuse me?'

Hermione decided she couldn't handle him right now, so she just walked away and sat at the Slytherin table, shocking not only Riddle, but people around them as well. Riddle, never the one to be ignored, sat down beside her just a moment later.

'You know, you really are jumpy and nervous,' he told her.

'And you care, because?' she asked, knowing full well his answer.

'I don't.'

'Then leave me be. Or kill me already. Whichever you fancy. I just want a bloody moment of peace! Is that really too much to ask?' she threw her hands into the air, not caring about the fuss she was making.

'Yes, when you behave the way you do.'

'I am deeply sorry that my behavior does not meet your expectations, but it is due to some uncomfortable circumstances. I beg your forgiveness,' she said, sounding not so much sarcastic as tired.

Riddle just looked at her and said nothing. Hermione was left slightly bewildered. He wasn't the type to let such behavior go, especially not in her case, but he did. Why? She looked at him. He was eating his breakfast, not quite ignoring her, but not looking at her either. There were no words. Did he just give her that one moment of peace she had asked for? She didn't ask out loud, for she didn't want to spoil that moment, enjoying her sandwich and smiling slightly to herself. She felt Riddle looking at her, but he didn't say a thing. The day had started quite well, in Hermione's opinion, as she looked up from her plate only to find Kegan smiling at her. She smiled back.

Of course, that was only the beginning of the day.

_**A/N:**__** How did you like it? Please, leave a review. Thank you for reading :]**_


	9. The Secret Of The Diary

_**A/N:**__** Hi! It's me again. This time a bit faster. This chapter is pretty long, I hope it's not boring. Actually, it reveals a lot of things. Maybe I shouldn't reveal them at the same time, maybe I should savour them, but on the other hand, there's much more to come, so what the hell! xD I hope you'll enjoy it. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed my story. It keeps me going, especially that now it's a pretty hard time for me.**_

_**Just for a reminder: I DO NOT own Harry Potter. This story is purely fictional and of my creation.**_

Silence between Hermione and Riddle lasted longer than Hermione dared to dream. They ended breakfast at the same time and went to their first class together. They were still sitting together in classes, but no words between the two of them were spoken. It was too good to be true.

Riddle treated Hermione like air. No, surprisingly it wasn't in any way superior, more like he gave the poor girl her own space, just like she had asked. Well, it wasn't exactly what she had asked for, but it was the nearest thing he could have done. And she sure as hell didn't complain.

During their last class she couldn't help herself and looked at him. He was scribbling some notes, the quill moving surely over the parchment, making nice, elegant-looking letters. His face was as stoic as ever, not even a crease on his forehead, his raven hair perfectly composed over his pale face, his deep green eyes fixed on what he was writing. Right then, he was the incarnation of perfection. It must have come with spending more time with him, Hermione thought, but his eyes no longer reminded her of Harry's. The colour wasn't so bright, definitely a calmer shade of green. While Harry's reminded her of fresh grass, Riddle's – of the Forbidden Forest. And while Harry's emotions always shone in them for everyone to read, Riddle's were unchangeable with the exception of fury and so far no one besides Hermione seemed to accomplish it.

Suddenly, something hit Hermione like a snowball. Yes, exactly, like a SNOWBALL, because the realisation sent coldness all over her body, just like a person hit by one. She tore her eyes away from Riddle, hoping she hadn't stared too much, but no one seemed to notice. She pinned her eyes to her notes and dwelled on the thought that had just popped into her mind.

She's almost forgotten all about Harry. If she was reminiscing about the past, it was only about herself and how all those strange happenings could be explained. Never once had she thought about him. How could she? He was one of the most important people in her life and yet she was concerned only for herself. How much more selfish could she get?

But now, when she'd already remembered about Harry, she started thinking about the differences and similarities between him and Riddle, in appearance, but not only.

Riddle was a bit taller than Harry, but not much, seeing as Harry had grown up seemingly lately. Both of them were lean and slightly muscled - after Harry had gotten into Hogwarts and started growing up and playing Quidditch, he became quite good-looking. Their hair colour was identical, and they both had a lot of hair, but Riddle's were more shiny and composed, while Harry's were always wind-ruffled.

And they both have had a rough childhood. They were treated like freaks and uncared for. Harry's parents had cared for him when they were alive, but he couldn't have known it before going to Hogwarts, it wasn't like the Dursleys talked to him about it. And look how differently they have grown up. Two very contrasting reactions to their hardships. Harry had become a true hero, while Riddle... well, a monster.

Hermione's thoughts concentrated on Harry solely. What was he doing? Did time still pass while she was in the past? Or did it stop? She hoped he was doing well. She's always been watching over him. He wasn't stupid, she knew that very well, but he was hot-headed and too self-sacrificing, so someone had to make sure he didn't do something too dangerous. Well, that didn't sound too true, what with the Triwizard Tournament and all, but she didn't want him to risk too much when there were other options. And no one knew him better than she did, not even Ron – he wasn't too noticing.

She knew him the best and she's been watching over him, but there was another person who's been WATCHING him. One redheaded girl named Ginny Weasley. Hermione knew full well that the younger witch was attracted to the Boy-Who-Lived. Actually, she was head-over-heels for him. At first Hermione didn't want to acknowledge the feelings of the Weasley girl, believing them to be only fame-ridden. Ginny didn't know a thing about him and yet she spent every minute dreaming about him. It's not that Hermione disliked the other girl; on the contrary – she was happy to have her. Ginny was smart, funny and dependable, a truly great friend, but Harry was also her friend and she didn't want him to be hurt. She thought it would be best to just wait and see. And that's what she told the younger witch. To stop pestering him and to live her own life. That didn't mean to avoid him. To treat him as a good housemate and be a good housemate herself, so that Harry would see her true self. And either he'd fall in love with her or she'd have to move on. Hermione told her to be patient, because Harry wasn't too bright when it came to that kind of thing and it would be awhile before he even considered her as a woman, but it would be worth the wait if he did. Ginny agreed and stuck to the plan.

Months passed and Ginny's feelings didn't change; if anything, they grew deeper. And she got to know him for who he was. Hermione couldn't help but admit that the girl would be great for Harry. She was feisty, smart, caring and everything that would be good for him. He noticed her, thought her to be a good friend with whom he could play Quidditch, but nothing more. Ginny was a bit down because of that, but she told Hermione that she wouldn't budge in her plans. And if Harry didn't want her, she wouldn't be miserable. Hermione admired her for that.

Instead, Harry got interested in Cho Chang, someone he would never have much in common with. Hermione didn't know her very well personally, but Cedric told her a lot about the Ravenclaw girl. In short, she and Harry didn't fit together well. She wasn't bad – smart, pretty and loyal. But she was a girly girl, the type that Harry didn't know how to handle. She liked to cry, she gossiped with her friends, eyed hot guys, batted her eyelashes at them and overanalyzed what they did or said to the point when there wasn't left one real thing they said, only her assumptions. Hermione supposed Harry liked her precisely because of that. She intrigued him. Hermione guessed this would pass and he'd acknowledge traits like Ginny's.

With all the circumstances, it was no wonder Hermione and Ginny befriended each other. They were the only girls in the Burrow and their friendship was sealed by the whole Harry affair. Ginny was one of the persons around which Hermione let herself go. It wasn't that she didn't trust Harry or Ron, but with them it was almost a life-or-death matter, so she usually stuck to her bookworm mood. Someone had to keep them on the ground. She hoped that once this whole war was over she could show them that side of her which wanted to have fun. But for now, she didn't want Harry to worry that she suppressed her desires in order to help him, so she just pretended that she didn't have any fun side.

At first, Ginny told her she shouldn't do that just for Harry's sake, but the longer she stayed with them, the more she had to admit that Hermione was right and that Harry would do anything to make Hermione think he didn't need as much help as he, in fact, did, and he would end up doing something stupid. So she didn't press.

Hermione sometimes showed flashes of that fun side of hers. No wonder, even she couldn't keep all of that inside for the whole time, no teenager could. But she did her best. And hoped it would be enough.

'Hey!'

Hermione was shook out of her trans by now all-too-familiar voice. She looked up to see Riddle standing near their desk with his bag on his shoulder. She was about to start wondering why he chose to end their silent truce when she noticed that no one was around and that the class had been dismissed.

'Oh,' she gasped quietly, quickly picking up her things and throwing them into her bag.

She was still a little dazed, so she was startled a bit to find a solid chest in her face after she had packed everything and tried to storm out of the classroom. It appeared that Riddle was waiting for her. It didn't even occur to her that he would. She decided she needed to get a grip on herself.

'Everything alright?' he asked apprehensively.

Hermione looked up to his green eyes and he stared right back at her. She quickly built up a mental wall to keep him out of her thoughts.

'Just got a little caught up in memories,' she replied truthfully. She didn't see a reason not to tell him this much.

'You were spacing out the whole lesson. It's not like you.'

That statement surprised Hermione. Since when did Riddle know her that well? Oh, actually it wasn't that hard to see, but he didn't seem to be the right person to make such statements.

'Yeah, well, I have a lot on my mind,' she replied vaguely.

'You won't tell me, right?' he was looking at her indifferently.

'Right. I don't know why you still bother asking.'

'I don't give up easily,' he stepped back, restoring their personal space.

'You sure as hell don't,' Hermione muttered, tearing her eyes away from his and making her way to the door.

Riddle, of course, wouldn't be left behind. He quickly caught up to her.

'You're a Muggleborn lover, aren't you?' he asked with a slight sneer.

'You're a Pureblood lover, aren't you?' she bit back.

'I'm serious. You ARE a Muggleborn lover. Well, no wonder, seeing as so far you've been thinking you are one. No one can blame you for that. But don't you think it's about time you changed your views?'

Hermione didn't know what to say. He was acting superior, for saying that no one would blame her, like he had the right to tell everyone what they should be sorry for. But on the other hand, he was being unnaturally patient and gentle. How should she react? Her first instinct was to talk right back to him, just for the hell of it. But he let her have a little bit of peace, and he didn't attack her, didn't threaten her, didn't make fun of her. He approached her, almost like an equal. Should she ruin all of that just for the sake of venting her stress out on him?

It was then that she realised something. She's always been venting her anger out on him. It's not like he was innocent, but she treated him for what he would become in the future and not only what he showed her of himself. He quickly discarded his carefully made mask for her, but she made him do that. She's been behaving like she knew him from the very start, making herself look just that more suspicious. She was too careless.

'Why should I change my views? Even if I wasn't a Muggleborn, that doesn't change the fact that they don't deserve to be treated like a disease.'

She half expected Riddle to throw a fit and start threatening her like he usually did, but that didn't happen. His composure was as calm as ever.

'Are you so sure? Once you asked if I really thought that they steal our magic. Yes and no. Some Muggle children just get magical powers, and that can happen just as well as there are squibs born in wizarding families. But they mute our magic, depriving us of some magical abilities. Why, in your opinion, only an heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber of Secrets? Why only a Pureblood can speak Parseltongue?'

'Because Slytherin was a Parselmouth, so it's obvious that his descendants would be, too,' Hermione replied automatically.

'I knew you'd say that,' Riddle smiled smugly. 'I have to disappoint you. I did some research and found out that it's not entirely true. Yes, Salazar Slytherin WAS a Parselmouth, the only one among the four founders of Hogwarts. But before him people spoke Parselmouth as well. You can find it even in Muggle sources. For example, tribal shamans were actually wizards. Back in those times magic wasn't treated like a disease or a gift from the devil. Wizards were treated with respect. They weren't educated, but their parents taught them enough for them to be able to protect their tribes. Some tribes were famous for having a shaman with an ability to control snakes. While it wasn't exactly true - after all, what could a Muggle know - they could talk to them. And not only to snakes, to other animals as well, depending on their needs. I guess that their magic adjusted itself to them. Unfortunately, only the ability to speak to snakes was preserved. At least only this one is documented and we are sure of that.

What I want to say is that only a Pureblood can be a Parselmouth because magic of Muggleborns obscures those abilities. They can be good wizards and witches, but they'll never have those special abilities nor will their children have them. They're not aware of it, but they make our magical culture poorer with each generation. Only Slytherins – not even all of them, but they are the only ones – keep their genealogical trees as pure as they can, to preserve those abilities. We are seen as though we are the bad ones, because we don't want to have Muggleborns in our families, but we are the only ones that keep our magic pure, without any stains. But soon we'll be no longer able to do that and then the beauty of pure magic will be lost to the world.

As for Muggles and my attitude towards them, it also isn't unexplained. So far one could only dream about being superior to them. They have the upper hand. We are the ones that are hiding like rats. You probably think that I treat their lack of magic like a disease, but it's exactly the other way round! We have our own world to live in. They look for another species in the Universe when they have it right under their noses! We're practically cut out from their world. We visit it sometimes, but there almost aren't any wizarding families lining there. After graduating from Hogwarts we get jobs in OUR world and we move in to the wizarding villages, next to other WIZARDS. We have nothing to look for in the Muggle world. The truth is that THEY treat US like a disease. If you told your Muggle friends that you're magical, they'd either laugh at you or think you're crazy. If you proved it to them, they'd be afraid of you. That's how it works. I know that it's no wonder that they'd be afraid, after all, we're much stronger than they are, but on the other hand, once you take away a wizard his wand, he's defenceless, at least in most cases, but most of the wizarding world is Muggle-loving, so there should be no problem in keeping truce. If THEY would stay true to their word, that is. They'd tried it in Japan a long time ago, but it didn't work. Guess why? Muggles pretended to be all friendly and agreed quickly to cooperate and wizards trusted it'd stay this way. That was their mistake. The night after, all of the wizards the Muggles knew about were killed in their SLEEP! Of course, not all of the Japanese wizards revealed themselves, they saw no need, they only sent a group of representatives. The remaining group should have attacked, but they didn't. Instead, they escaped, creating their own world. The note got to European wizards and they decided to not even try. They masked the incident so that no wizard would try to rebel. They preferred to hide themselves. And that was another big mistake! Back then it wouldn't have taken a lot of effort to bring the wizarding world out of hiding. Now, it'd take a real rebellion prepared for years.

As for why we don't tell others about Muggleborns bringing us down is that it's forbidden by the law. Yes, it's stated in the Secrecy Decree. No one actually reads it, so not many people know. We are only able to pass this knowledge from generation to generation. The only thing we can do is to be bitter and hate them. And that's what most of us do. Watch as our blood and magic gets dirtier with each passing minute, knowing we can't do a bloody thing to stop that! Well, not all of us. I didn't allow myself to get all whiny. I want to change the way we have to live, like we are ashamed of who we are when we should be proud of it!'

After that, Riddle fell silent. Hermione was speechless. Not even once had she thought Riddle would be so reasonable. She'd tried to explain his behaviour, but the only thing she came up with was his horrible childhood. She stuck to that. Now here he was, explaining it all to her, making as much sense as a man could. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew that if she asked, he'd show her evidences. He wouldn't risk lying to her in such a serious matter, he wasn't that stupid.

So what was she supposed to believe in now? Muggleborns weren't guilty, it wasn't their fault that their magic worked the way it did. And Muggles... She'd like to believe they wouldn't behave like that, but she knew better than to cling on to those hopes. They'd be terrified, especially the ones with power, and even if not all of them would be like that, the calmer ones would have nothing to say. So it would be a war.

But on the other hand, was living in seclusion such a bad thing? It was quite peaceful, of course without all the Death Eaters and things like that. So why fight when all could stay the way it was?

But something in Hermione screamed, some part of her demanded justice. Riddle was right, it wasn't him who treated Muggles like a plague, it was them treating magic like a disease. They surrounded themselves with technology and killed any need for magic within themselves. Knowing about the wizards, they'd feel threatened. That could end in only one way. War.

Riddle sensed Hermione's internal battle. If she'd looked at him, she would've seen little sparkle of smugness in his eyes. He made her doubt. At last he figured a way to get her to do so. He's been trying the wrong way. He wanted her to hate them like he did, but that would never work. However, when he calmly told her the truth with only a hint of his personal feelings colouring his voice, she started to doubt.

'I don't want you to declare yourself right here and right now. I just realised that I should've said it at the beginning. I went about it the wrong way, instead of threatening you and making little remarks, I should have told you this. I should have known that my remarks wouldn't make you doubt and check things like that. Now that you know the truth, I leave it to you to decide. I believe you'll make the right choice.'

Hermione knew that he did it specifically for her to doubt. At last he chose the right way. But that didn't change the fact that he told the truth and she could check it any moment she wanted to. It was surprising that no one found out. But on the other hand, if SHE didn't even think of checking it, then who would have?

Riddle started to walk off, but she called after him. 'Riddle!'

He stopped and turned to look at her expectantly.

'Thanks,' she whispered, but he obviously heard it, for he stiffened visibly. Then he just nodded curtly and continued on his way.

* * *

Hermione spend the rest of the day in a trans-like state. And the rest of the week, too. Until Saturday, that is. It turned out to be a Hogsmead Saturday. She could go, Dumbledore told her so. But she didn't really want to. What for? To hang out with friends? She snorted at the thought. Yeah, right, friends. As if she had them.

She haven't seen Hagrid since their first, and at the same time last, conversation. She haven't spotted Kagen either. She hasn't spoken to Riddle either; they continued their unspoken truce. She didn't complain, it was quite nice and she could get used to it. Although she tried not to, knowing her temperament – actually, THEIR temperaments – it wouldn't remain that peaceful for long.

She was eating breakfast that fine Saturday morning, with Riddle sitting nearby, when she heard deep familiar voice from behind.

'Hi there.'

She turned to see Kagen standing in jeans and a gray T-shirt that brought out the colour of his eyes. He made quite nice view first thing in the morning. Well, not exactly first, but she was dazed, so that made him first thing she actually paid attention to that morning.

'Hi,' she replied, smiling slightly.

'Do you have plans for today's trip?' he asked casually, not loosing his composure, but a corner of his mouth went slightly up and that made a big difference. Especially for Hermione.

'No, not really. Why?' It might've been obvious, but Hermione wasn't used to guys asking her out like that, especially not here, in the past.

'I hoped you'd go with me for a butterbeer.'

'Sure,' she smiled a bit more.

'Then I'll see you later,' he waved and headed for the Gryffindor table.

Hermione turned back only to see Riddle glaring at her. So much for the truce.

'I should have known you're a hopeless case,' he spat out.

'So does that mean you make mistakes, too? Soon I'll find out you're actually a human!'

'You're never going to learn,' he hissed. 'Too bad for you. You're pretty much worthless, so it's not important, but it was fun, making you doubt.'

'Glad you had fun. Next time, tell me too, so that we can laugh together!'

With that she stood up and walked off. Just what the hell was that about? If she didn't know better, she'd think he was jealous, but come on, that was RIDDLE she was talking about. He wouldn't be that childish. And he'd have to actually care for her.

So Hermione opted for something else altogether. He must've been mad at her for "fraternizing with the enemy". He didn't have any actual friends and he hated Gryffindors in general, so he got angry when she got closer to one of them just when he thought he had her all in for his case. Well, she proved him wrong. But did that mean that her peace was once again destroyed?

'_And remind me, WHY did I open my big mouth again?'_ she scolded herself.

At least she'd have some fun with Kagen. But now, that she came to think of it, it didn't seem like such a nice idea anymore. They'd only drink one butterbeer together, but before and after that, she'd be alone. She had no other friends, only enemies, or at least people who didn't like her a lot. Should she not come in the end?

She decided she'd wait a little more and see what her gut would tell her when the time came. It wasn't a matter of life or death, so it could be decided a bit later.

But what should she do before that? She had free time and nothing important to do. She's had all of her homework done for a long time. Back in her times, she wouldn't have had such problems. She'd had Harry to worry about and her friends to hang out with. Always something to do.

She'd barely set her foot outside of the castle and a bird flew to her, hovering right before her. Actually, it wasn't JUST a bird. It was a Phoenix. And not JUST a Phoenix. It was Fawkes.

'_Why didn't I notice him back in Dumbledore's __office? I might've been preoccupied with various important things, but it's rather hard to miss a Phoenix being in the same room.'_

But Hermione didn't have time to dwell on such thoughts for Fawkes was obviously waiting for her to do something and she didn't have to guess what it was. A scrap of parchment was attached to his foot. She untied it and stroked Fawkes slightly, with visible admiration. The Phoenix made a satisfied sound and flew off.

Hermione unfolded the letter. There was no doubt as to who had written it. She recognised the narrow, elegant writing at the first glance. Message read:

_I have new information for you. I expect you in my office after breakfast._

And so she went.

* * *

Hermione knocked on the door to the Dumbledore's office and immediately heard 'Come in!' in reply.

'Good morning, sir.'

'Welcome, my child. Please, sit down.'

Dumbledore looked troubled. Whatever the news was, it wasn't all that good. Or at least it didn't help in anything.

'What did you want to talk with me about?' Hermione asked when she sat down opposite of Dumbledore. But then she remembered something else. 'Why didn't I notice Fawkes in your office before? And where id he now?'

Dumbledore seemed surprised by the question. 'How do you know about him?'

Now, Hermione was the one surprised. 'You send the message through him.' Then she understood. 'Oh, the name! I knew you, or rather I'll know you, whichever.'

'Oh,' Dumbledore accepted the answer. 'Well, I have been working on the diary that you gave me. And I have uncovered its secret,' he paused, but continued after awhile. 'It really is the property of my ancestor, Acacia Dumbledore. It turned out that the diary needed a little blood to confirm that I am her descendant so that I could read the contents of it. And they were truly shocking.

Everyone believes that there had only been four founders of Hogwarts. But in fact, there had been five of them.'

Hermione gasped. Dumbledore paused for the information to soak in. Then he continued.

'You probably have already figured it out, but yes, the fifth was Acacia. That is her crest on the diary, the one with the Phoenix, and white and violet are her colours. What everyone knows is that Hufflepuff wanted just people, Ravenclaw chose smart ones, Slytherin preferred cunningness and Gryffindor gathered brave wizards. And that is the moment in which that legend about powerful magical skills is proven true. I believe you have heard about it. Acacia trained those with such abilities. Back at the times when Hogwarts was still new, there were many gifted wizards and witches.'

'_I think I have a clue why there aren't much people like that nowadays,'_ Hermione thought a bit angrily. She felt as though she's discovered a brand new world, almost as if she was a Muggle introduced to magic, or a common human being who found out the secrets of prehistory. But she decided not to let her emotions show. She'd analyze all of this later; right now she needed to find everything out.

Dumbledore was still explaining things to Hermione. 'They had such abilities like yours – empathy, sharpened senses or a natural magical flow. That means, magic is more natural to you, you could use it without the need of a wand, more or less. She had such abilities and was said to be the most powerful witch of her age. She believed there were people who were much stronger than her, but were untrained. She didn't want those talents to be wasted, and so decided to teach them how to expand their skills.

Here is where the story gets unclear. She didn't write the diary herself, more like she collected other people's thoughts about her. So she was believed to have romance with Salazar Slytherin.'

Hermione didn't even have the energy to gasp. She absorbed all those news and by now thought nothing would shock her anymore. Apparently, it didn't work that way. She was still dumbstruck, her jaw just couldn't drop any lower.

Either Dumbledore wanted to make it dramatic or, which was more possible, it was still all new to him and it was probably his first time telling that – who else could he tell that to? – and therefore reviewed it all for himself. Whatever the reason was, he was doing quite dramatic pauses throughout the duration of the story.

And now, he continued. 'But then the founders started to argue. Slytherin left and Acacia disappeared not long after. There were no more signs of her. No one knew what happened to her, but there was a rumour that she was pregnant with Slytherin's child. However, there wasn't any proof. Just pure theory.'

Silence fell after that. Who could actually gather their wits in a second enough to ask ONE good questions when there was so much to ask about? Hermione couldn't. However, she gathered them the next second.

'What are you going to do with such news, professor?' How Hermione-like. Ask the most practical questions first, then sate your hunger for knowledge.

'I do not know. There is a part of the diary that still will not open itself, no matter which methods I try. It wouldn't be such a good idea to reveal everything right now. I will think of a way to open the rest of the diary. Everything else depends on whether I will succeed or not.'

'Professor, there's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you.'

Hermione thought well before saying that, but she came to the conclusion that it's the best choice to talk to Dumbledore about that. Especially after he told her all he's found out.

'Yes, Hermione?' Dumbledore looked at her, encouraging her to speak up.

'I am a Parselmouth.'

Again, silence fell. Too much revelations, even for such a great wizard. Of course, he's already noticed what that meant, unlike Hermione, who had to be told that by Riddle.

'To the best of my recollection, you said your parents were Muggles.'

'That's right, sir. I found out I can speak Parseltongue during my 2nd year, but didn't give it much thought. It's only now that I've realised what it means. Because there's no way a Muggleborn can be a Parselmouth, right?'

'Right. At least as far as I know. So that means that you are not a Muggleborn. That would explain the concealment charms. I cannot see any other explanation for the change in your looks.'

Hermione was reminded of her new looks. Yes, she was definitely different. Her hair wasn't so untameable anymore, it fell down in soft shiny chocolate cascades to her waist. Her now cinnamon eyes were more sparkling, as though someone had dropped brocade on them. And her eyelashes looked like those of a model from the commercials about mascaras. Before, she'd thought about regulating her eyebrows, but now they were just perfect. And her lips were fuller and of a darker shade. Her face has gotten an aristocratic feel to it. And her figure... Petite and curvy. No, she definitely hadn't looked like that.

'Why would someone put concealment charms on me?'

'Probably for the same reason you believed you were a Muggleborn,' Dumbledore replied reasonably.

'So what do we do now?' Hermione asked no one in particular. That was too much, even for her.

'I have to tell you frankly that it is almost impossible for you to go back to your times,' Dumbledore seemed to feel very guilty and sorry for that.

'Let me guess – ALMOST, because there's still the same way I got here, which is a miracle?' Hermione quickly regretted her sarcasm, for the wizard's face only fell even more. 'I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean it like that. I'm very thankful for your help and it's definitely not your fault that it's so hard to figure out a way to send me back. I won't give up the hope, but I'm aware of how small that chance is.'

Dumbledore lifted his face and flashed her a tired smile. Suddenly, despite his ginger hair and beard, he looked like the Dumbledore she knew from the future. But talking about her arrival to the past reminded her of yet another thing.

'Uh, sir, I've just remembered,' she blushed, mentally scolding herself for being so forgetful.

Dumbledore sensed her mood. 'It's okay, you have been through a lot. Please, do tell me what you've just remembered. It might be important.'

'During my sorting here, the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in either Gryffindor or Slytherin. I insisted on Gryffindor and just when I thought the Hat had agreed, it sorted me into Slytherin. It said that it was for the greater good or something and to fulfil the prophecy. And also that it's my fate.'

Could this be helpful? Well, prophecies were rather vital to the wizarding world and if there was one regarding her, it could be of use. Right?

'I will check this information and we will see where that gets us.'

'Until then there's nothing I could do, right?' Hermione sighed resignedly.

'Unfortunately you are right. Of course you can think or try something, but there is nothing I can ask of you right now except not to give up,' Dumbledore admitted.

'Then I'll be going. Good bye, professor.'

'Good bye, Hermione.'

* * *

Hermione left the office feeling dizzy. The roots of Hogwarts' history were wrong. They routine, the four houses, how would it all look like if Acacia didn't leave? And why didn't her house survive with the others? Slytherin had left, but his house remained. Why didn't the same happen to Acacia Dumbledore?

Seeing as Hermione's mind was occupied at the moment, her feet moved almost of their own volition, without her having any destination. Suddenly, she found herself in front of the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. She said the password and entered.

To her surprise, the Common Room wasn't filled with people getting ready to leave for Hogsmead. Of course, they wouldn't be chattering happily with each other like her fellow Gryffindors would, but still, there should be students. Well, there was one particular housemate whom she honestly didn't want to see.

'Don't you have a date to be at right now?' Riddle looked up at her from the book he was reading.

'Right now?' Hermione let the spitefulness go for the sake of realising why it was so peaceful.

He raised his eyebrows and snorted slightly. 'What, you didn't realise?'

'As you can see,' she glared at him, daring him to oppose her. A very bright idea, especially when talking to the future Dark Lord, don't you think?

Apparently, Riddle also found it amusing. 'Too busy thinking about your love boy?'

'If I were thinking about any love boy I might have, I would be grinning from ear to ear, or at least I would be a bit more happy than I am right now.'

His smirk dropped. 'So you had a meeting with your precious old fool.'

'Think whatever you want, I couldn't care less.'

'Really stupid of you. Honestly, romancing with a Gryffindor and listening to a know-it-all oaf!'

To his surprise, she only smiled at that. 'You know, I used to be called a "know it all".'

'Can't see why,' he was close to rolling his eyes, but didn't actually do it, what with the cool attitude and all.

'Says who. Weren't you this creepy, you'd be called that too,' she retorted.

Riddle's smirk returned, a new gleam in his eye. 'Glad that I'm this creepy then. It'd do you some good too, be creepy, I mean.'

'Two creeps bickering all the time? Why not? We'd have more in common,' she replied calmly.

'Nice idea. We still didn't get to do our pyjama party.'

'Ok, so I'll go grab the cookies,' Hermione turned to her dormitory.

'You said it'd do your teeth some bad,' Riddle's voice stopped her.

'Well, I haven't had so many today,' she said in a faked cheery tone.

'How come? You've just had a chat with our beloved professor. No cookies today?' his voice became cold.

'Nope, and thus my bad mood.'

She entered her dormitory and he didn't stop her this time. To her delight, it was completely empty. She could think things through. She wondered if Kagen was mad at her for not showing up. Well, in the end she didn't have to decide whether to go or not, it was decided without her consent. Nevertheless, it wasn't nice of her.

But that wasn't her biggest problem. Unless there happened to be a mad house-elf and a wizard trying to protect her from said house-elf - plus a mirror would be good - she couldn't go back. So she had to think about her current situation.

She now knew that she wasn't a Muggleborn, that there'd been five founders of Hogwarts, that special magical abilities weren't only a legend and that Muggleborns stained the magic. What to do with such a dynamite-like mix? Light it up and watch it explode?

She had a sudden urge to go and tell Riddle everything she'd learned from Dumbledore. Then her hands clamped down on her mouth, as though it could stop the unsaid thought from getting too real, a look of horror and shock crossing her face. She wanted to trust Riddle. Why? Because he told her about Muggleborns? It was in his best interest, so it had nothing to do with him trusting her. But he cared enough for it to matter to him.

Who was she kidding? He just wanted to be proved the smartest and the most powerful and she was just a toy, an amusement, and a possible source of information.

But his wit impressed her and he was rational. She liked their bickering, there was something comforting in it, making Riddle seem more like a teenager that he was than a powerful Dark Lord that was etched on her mind. His ego unnerved her and she's had enough of his pride, but something in her snapped after he talked with her calmly and explained everything to her. She knew it was a tactical move, but couldn't stop herself from being somehow satisfied. And then those peaceful days. He made her wish come true. Altogether, the worst thing was that he was damn rational.

However, that wasn't an excuse to the sudden need to have trust in him. That must be a side-effect of being alienated. Right?

_**Thank you for reading! Now please, review :] Oh, and one more thing: if someone wants me to write a specific story, let me know. I'm accepting such requests :]**_


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